The US Navy on Wednesday recovered from the bottom of the South China Sea the wreckage of a US military stealth fighter jet that crashed into the deck of a US aircraft carrier in January, the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a news release on Thursday. declare.
The F-35C crashed at sea on January 24 after failing to make a successful landing on the USS Carl Vinson while performing "routine flight operations", the release said.
To retrieve military aircraft wreckage from "approximately 12,400 feet" deep, a team of US Navy service members used a "remotely operated vehicle", which was called "special rigging and lift lines to the aircraft" to connect. It is called CURV-21. at the bottom of the ocean, the release said.
After connecting the rigging and lift lines, the crane aircraft on the diving support construction vessel was "lowered to sea level and attached to the rigging." Once attached, the team lifted the aircraft to the surface of the sea and placed it onboard for transport, the release said.
"The aircraft will be delivered to a nearby military installation to assist with the ongoing investigation and will be evaluated for possible transportation to the United States," the release said.
It took the team 37 days to retrieve the debris. This included members of US 7th Fleet Task Force 75 and Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Salvage and Diving. He used the "Diving Support Construction Vessel Picasso" to retrieve the wreck.
Seven people, including the pilot ejecting from the plane and six others aboard the carrier, were injured when the plane crashed in January. The $100 million fighter jet is the newest addition to the Navy's fleet.
After the crash, the US Navy said it planned to retrieve any remains of the aircraft from the sea. The F-35C contains some of the Navy's most advanced technology, and analysts said Washington would like to keep it out of Beijing's hands.
However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was aware that a US Navy stealth fighter had crashed in the South China Sea but "was not interested in their aircraft."
"We advise [the United States] to contribute more to regional peace and stability in the [South China Sea] than to exert force at every turn," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
Video surfaced shortly after the crash, showing the plane bursting into flames as it struck the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson.
Immediately after the accident, Navy officials described the damage to Carl Vinson as superficial and said it quickly resumed normal operations.