Navy recovers downed F-35 in South China Sea

The Navy has successfully recovered the F-35 Lightning II aircraft that crashed aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea.

The 7th Fleet’s Task Force 75 and Naval Sea Systems Command recovered the aircraft from a depth of approximately 12,400 feet on Wednesday, the Navy announced a day later.

The crash occurred on Jan. 24, in which the F-35C, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 147, roughly hit the aircraft carrier as flames burst out the rear and the plane skidded across the deck before crashing into the South China Sea.

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The Navy was able to recover the aircraft using a CURV-21, which is a remotely operated vehicle. It attached specialized rigging and lift lines to the aircraft. Then, the diving support construction vessel Picasso’s lifting hook was lowered to the seafloor and connected to the rigging. It was then lifted to the surface and voiced onboard.

“The task force’s expertise in rapid, scalable command, control, and communications, agile logistics, organic security, and explosive ordnance disposal was the most flexible choice for the fleet commander to respond in a timely manner,” said CTF 75 Commodore Capt. Gareth Healy.

“Ultimately, this deliberate approach resulted in the correct capabilities conducting recovery operations within 37 days of the incident,” he added. “Given the unique challenges of this problem and the unique technical capabilities that NAVSEA delivered, this was an aggressive and achievable timeline.”

Unapproved videos of the crash were leaked in the days that followed, some of which resulted in sailors getting disciplined.

Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Zach Harrell told the Washington Examiner last month that five sailors were charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Those who were disciplined include an ensign, a senior chief, and three chief petty officers. The unidentified sailors were charged under Article 92 of the code, which is failure to obey a lawful order.

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The rationale behind charging those five in particular was that the video they shared of the incident came from the PLAT, a tool to assist pilots approaching a carrier landing, and thus was classified as leaking of government property without proper clearance, according to USNI News.

Seven sailors were injured through the mishap, none severely.