A fighter jet burst into flames after crashing at a military base, with the pilot managing to escape unscathed. 

Footage captured at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska shows the F-35 fighter jet barreling to the ground before exploding on Tuesday afternoon.

The jet can be seen flailing around in mid air, while the pilot safely descends underneath a parachute before it burst into a ball of flames. 

It remains unclear what caused the pilot to eject and send the jet crashing to the ground at this stage. 

In a statement the 354th Fighter Wing’s office described the incident it as causing significant damage. 

They said: ‘The pilot is safe and has been transported to Bassett Army Hospital for further evaluation.’

Col. Paul Townsend, the commander of the fighter wing, emphasized the significance of the personnel by stating, “Our people are our most important resource, and we are committed to ensuring their safety and security.”

Townsend further assured, “I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again.”

Townsend also told reporters that the pilot had been executing ‘standard procedures’ at the time of the incident. 

He also mentioned, “I think it is premature to speculate on the causes of the incident. Essentially, [the pilot] experienced an in-flight malfunction, was able to safely eject, but unfortunately, it led to the crash of the aircraft.”

The F-35A is the Air Force’s latest fighter jet that had replaced the F-16 Fighting Falcons, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II’s. 

According to Air & Spaces Forces Magazine, the average price of one of the jets is roughly $81 million. 

There are currently 54 of the jets stationed at the base, which is situated near Fairbanks, according to Anchorage Daily News. 

The jets are long-range supersonic jets that come with stealth capability, and are also capable of reaching anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in one mission.

It comes after a similar F-35 jet crashed in rural South Carolina in September of 2023, with the pilot also parachuting to safety. 

The jet went missing, with officials asking the public to call in if they had any information on the jet, causing a media frenzy. They found it a day later.

It took 17 days to collect and examine the wreckage and clean up spilt fuel and other hazards from the woods at a cost of more than $2.1 million, according to a report.

A Marine investigation last year blamed the pilot of the jet for ejecting when he didn’t need to, causing it to fly unmanned for 11 minutes before it eventually crashed. 

The report blamed the stealth technology onboard as well as a transponder that didn’t work and the plane flying at low altitude with a system that automatically stabilizes flight without a pilot’s control on the disappearance. 

The jet suffered several system failures as the pilot tried to land at Joint Base Charleston in heavy rain in September 2023 after a 50-minute training flight with another F-35.

Lightning had been reported nearby and the aircraft suffered an “electrical event” that caused malfunctions in its radios, transponders and air navigation system. 

The pilot’s helmet display also flickered on and off three times. The exact nature of what happened was blacked out in the report released to the public.

The pilot then said he had no reference to where he was in relation to the ground and was unsure what instruments he could trust, so he decided to eject. 

Marine investigators determined there was no need to abandon the aircraft because its computer was still controlling its flight as evidenced by the jet staying in the air for more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) and 11 minutes with no pilot.

The standby instruments were still providing accurate data and the backup radio was still at least partially functioning, according to the report.

The report noted that investigators aren’t sure what data the pilot was receiving or what he saw in his helmet just before and at the time he ejected because the crash recorder did not record that information.