The F-35B crashed on the Queen Elizabeth, and the surveillance video was leaked. The British are stupid now.

There is still no conclusion to the incident of the F-35B crashing into the sea on HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the United States, Britain, and Russia are still conducting a "fishing competition" for this F-35B.

However, a video of the F-35B crash was recently leaked, confirming to the outside world that the F-35B crashed most likely due to a low-level mistake.

The F-35B is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft with a relatively complex structure. This is the first time that the British carrier-based aircraft force has been deployed overseas, so it is understandable that there were mechanical accidents. The author did not initially laugh at the British, but felt that there were only eight carrier-based aircraft, and it was a real loss for one to crash, and 100 million pounds was wasted.

An F-35B Lightning II fighter jet prepares to take off from HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) on August 14, 2021. Royal Navy Photo

But the author never expected that this F-35B crashed due to an extremely low-level mistake.

Shortly after the accident, according to the British newspaper The Sun, the reason for the crash of the British F-35B fighter was that a red engine intake cover was not removed. As a result, after the F-35B fighter took off using a ski-jump, it had insufficient lift due to insufficient air intake. It crashed as soon as it left the deck. When the pilot realized something was wrong, it was too late and could only eject. Because it was too close to the aircraft carrier, the pilot even hung on the deck after ejection. After the plane crashed into the sea, the sailors saw the cover floating on the sea. The pilot was hanging on the deck.

The Sun did not say whether it was referring to the air intake cover or the lift fan cover.

Although the F-35B can take off vertically, it usually takes off in a short run because it consumes too much fuel. At this time, the back lift fan should also be opened to provide additional lift.

The picture shows the US Marine Corps' F-35B taking off from Japan's "Izumo" quasi-aircraft carrier with a short ski jump

This incident is so unbelievable that I just treat it as a joke. The Royal Navy should not and would not make such a low-level mistake, especially the fact that the pilot was hanging on the deck. It is unlikely no matter how you think about it. Especially since it was said by The Sun, a newspaper that is not very serious to be honest and is famous for its "Page 3 Girls".

Those who know about the “Page 3 girls” know that they will not pass the censorship if they are released. There are many jokes about this in the famous British TV series “Yes, Prime Minister”.

But as the video leaked, it seemed to be confirmed...

In the video, we can see that the F-35B aircraft climbed onto the ski jump deck at an extremely slow speed - even people without military knowledge would know that it could not fly at this speed. It then crashed directly into the sea. After the pilot ejected urgently, the parachute really hung on the head of the ski jump deck.

The pilot ejected just off the edge of the ski jump, proving that he did realize something was wrong but it was too late.

The most outrageous thing is that you can see the pilot actually hanging on the edge of the deck after parachuting...

Earlier, there were reports that the cause of the plane crash was that the protective cover of the air intake was not removed. The source who revealed that the air intake cover was not removed mentioned the detail that the parachute was hanging on the bow. Now it has been confirmed by video, so the credibility of other aspects has also increased.

In other words, the F-35B crashed, and it is possible that the air intake cover was not removed...

Another reliable British photographer (Luke Webster) claimed to be a friend of the pilot and said the story was "true". The source also described that the people on the deck immediately realized the cause of the plane crash. When they rushed to the deck, they saw a red protective cover floating on the sea.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said it was still investigating, while sources blamed human error and negligence, adding that no other F-35Bs had been grounded because it was not a mechanical failure of the aircraft.

If this is true, it means that the British Navy has fallen to such a level. Didn't the ground crew check the aircraft before takeoff? Didn't the pilots check it themselves? Didn't they check the list and sign it? (There is a number of things that need to be taken off before flight, and there is a list to check one by one and then sign to confirm)? A comprehensive inspection of the carrier-based aircraft about to take off is the most important and the most basic requirement, and for foreign objects on the flight deck, the sailors will line up to conduct a "carpet-style inspection". I didn't expect that the Royal Navy, which has rich experience in aircraft carrier operations, would be so negligent.

Aircraft carrier is cleaning the deck

F-35B bomb check before takeoff. Note the red cover on the air intake. It should not be this

It is not clear why such a problem occurred. This depends on the black box. In short, the current priority is to salvage the plane. Judging from the crashed posture, the F-35B is likely to be well preserved. The United States and Britain are currently cooperating in salvaging to ensure that this advanced fighter and any of its key components will not fall into the hands of Russia or other potential powers.