RAF pilot tells how he ejected from £120m F-35 just before it plunged into sea

23 February 2023 , 06:57

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"Hux" the pilot who ejected from the F-35 jet (Image: PA)

A pilot of a £120 million F-35 fighter jet has told how he escaped death by ejecting seconds before it crashed into the sea off a Royal Navy warship.

Known only as Hux, the pilot said he landed on the deck "by a few feet" as he survived thanks to his quick thinking during the accident in November, 2021.

The plane malfunctioned on the runway of the UK’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth and footage showed it drop into the sea as it failed to take off.

Hux suffered only minor injuries after ejecting before the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt.

He spoke to the BBC about the accident as part of the series The Warship: Tour of Duty and told the film crew how the plane lost power and failed to take off.

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The pilot told how he made the spilt second decision to eject (BBC)

"I tried for emergency power - that didn't work, then I tried to slap on the brakes - that didn't work either... so I kind of knew it was going to roll off the ship," he told the BBC.

He ejected from the plane and parachuted back down into the path of the warship, commenting how he managed to make it onto the deck 'by a few feet'.

He reportedly told of seeing the sea below him "and then a second later I could see the flight deck of the ship starting to appear beneath me".

An investigation found that the sudden loss of power was probably caused by a cover mistakenly left on a jet intake.

An image of the plane failing to take off from the runway of the ship

The plane can be seen falling off the ship and dropping into the sea (@SkyNews/Twitter)

The wreckage of the plane was later discovered after a major search with the aim of preventing the aircraft with top secret technology fell into enemy hands.

The technology includes top secret radar and sensors that allows the F-35 to fly at supersonic speeds without being seen.

Chris Terrill, who filmed the rescue, said: "An aircraft might have been lost but there was a pilot, a shipmate, who had to be saved. Training kicked in but there was an extra energy and urgency to the sailors' execution of their emergency procedures. It was terrifying but inspiring to see."

The six-part BBC series follows HMS Queen Elizabeth's eight-month, 49,000-nautical mile voyage to the Pacific Ocean and back last year.

Tim Hanlon