F-35 Jet Crashes 11 Times: Is America’s $100M Fighter Worth the Hype?

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A US Navy F-35 fighter plane, a stealth aircraft worth almost $100 million, crashed Wednesday near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California. The pilot safely ejected, and there were no reported injuries. The cause of the crash, confirmed by the Navy, is under investigation, according to CNN.

This recent crash has brought the F-35’s safety record back into the spotlight once again, this time involving a fighter plane built by Lockheed Martin.

Crash at Key Military Facility

The crash happened close to one of the Navy’s largest West Coast bases for its strike fighters, Naval Air Station Lemoore. The facility is a key hub for training Navy pilots to go to war. This crash is another entry in a long line of criticism about the aircraft’s performance and reliability.

11 Crashes in 7 Years

The F-35 has been in 11 crashes since 2018, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. Lockheed Martin first started working on the aircraft as part of the Joint Strike Fighter program in 1995 and began full production in 2021. Interestingly, the fighter jet crashed for the first time even before mass production.

Timeline of Major F-35 Accidents

Following is a summary of the major F-35 incidents in recent times:

1. California (July 31, 2025): The most recent crash off NAS Lemoore. Pilot safely ejected.

2. Alaska (Jan 29, 2025): An F-35 crashed in Alaska, which is the second crash of the year.

3. New Mexico (May 29, 2024): An F-35 Lightning II crashed shortly after takeoff off Albuquerque’s airport. The pilot ejected but was hospitalized with critical injuries.

4. South Carolina (Sept 17, 2023): A Marine Corps F-35 crashed after the pilot went into autopilot and ejected. The plane crashed just north of North Charleston.

5. Utah (Oct 19, 2022): An F-35 crashed on approach to Hill Air Force Base. Pilot sustained minor injuries. A malfunctioning air data system was faulted.

6. South Korea (Jan 4, 2022): A South Korean F-35A emergency landed due to a suspected avionics failure. The aircraft was written off.

7. South China Sea (Jan 24, 2022): An F-35 struck the deck of USS Carl Vinson and ended up in the sea. “The result of pilot error,” stated US 7th Fleet Vice Adm. Karl Thomas.

8. Mediterranean Sea (Nov 17, 2021): A British F-35B crashed during takeoff from HMS Queen Elizabeth and was recovered from the sea.

9. Florida (May 19, 2020): F-35 crashed at Eglin Air Force Base. Pilot ejected safely. Fast landing and flight control problem were given as reasons.

10. Japan (April 9, 2019): Japanese F-35A went missing while training. Pilot perished, and the body was recovered many months later.

11. South Carolina (Sept 28, 2018): F-35B crashed on a training flight. Reason: manufacturing defect in the fuel tube of the engine.

Serious Reliability Concerns

News from the US Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has established that the F-35 regularly falls short of its reliability requirement.

“The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below service expectations and requirements,” January 2024 report

On average, the plane is mission-ready only 51% of the time, far from the 65% target.

Sky-High Maintenance Costs

A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in April 2024 states:

“The price to maintain the F-35 fleet continues to rise from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion in 2023.”

The Department of Defense is also said to intend to operate the plane less than it was supposed to because of the reliability issues.

“The F-35’s mission capability has also declined over the last 5 years.”