An F-35A from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, experienced an in-flight emergency Wednesday afternoon as well as a ground mishap which caused its nose gear to collapse, service officials said.
The F-35, assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, experienced a ground mishap at approximately 12:50 p.m., the 33rd Fighter Wing said in a Facebook post.
"The F-35A experienced an in-flight emergency and returned to base," officials said. "The aircraft landed safely and parked when the front nose gear collapsed," the 33rd said.
One pilot was on board the aircraft, but did not sustain any injuries as a result of the mishaps, the Air force said. Fire crews "responded immediately," officials said.
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Lena Lopez, a spokeswoman for the 33rd Fighter Wing, told Military.com that an investigation into the incident "is just beginning." Lopez did not specify a timeline when the Air Force may have an update into the incident.
The Air Force did not specify the extent of the damage.
Eglin is home to one of the busiest F-35 training units in the Air Force; The 33rd Fighter Wing is also the leading training wing for F-35 student pilots.
The 33rd maintains 25 F-35As. The U.S. Navy, which also has a presence at Eglin and sends pilots through the training pipeline at the base, keeps 8 F-35Cs on station.
Photos from the Northwest Florida Daily News showed the F-35 tipped downward atop its collapsed landing gear.
-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.
