Salvaging the jet – the race to recover the ditched F-35 from the seabed 21 Nov 2021
https://www.navylookout.com/salvagin...om-the-seabed/
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PUNCHING OUT Reliable sources say that the accident occurred during take-off and the pilot was recovered very close to the carrier. The Daily Mail [ [url]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10214377/Navy-rushes-recover-100m-F-35B-jet-sea-bed-pilot-ditched.html ] reported that the pilot was “left dangling from the edge of the HMS Queen Elizabeth because the lines of his parachute became caught on edge of flight deck.” Official sources would not confirm or deny this detail but it would suggest the pilot was very fortunate. Accidents on take-off are especially dangerous but whether trapped in a sinking aircraft or having ejected, naval aviators also face the serious risk of being run over by the carrier...." [lots more at the [b]navylookout URL about various aspects of a potential recovery of the aircraft]
DAILY MAIL excerpt:
"...The pilot, who suffered minor injuries, is understood to have been rescued by helicopter. The pilot's family was informed of the crash before military chiefs released a statement yesterday afternoon about the incident. After he ejected, rockets in his plane's seat blasted him more than 100 feet upwards before his parachute opened.
But a source told The Sun that when the pilot floated back down towards the warship, he 'came within inches' of hitting the flight deck. Instead, a cross-wind is said to have blown him sideways, where his parachute lines then became snagged on the edge of the 900 foot long runway. The quick-thinking pilot was then left dangling from the edge of the warship, around 60 feet above the water. He pulled an escape pin which released him from his harness and he then plunged into the water. [that is called the LONG DROP is it not?]
'He made the right decision,' a source said. 'We train for landing in water. The last thing you want is to get tangled in your parachute lines getting dragged along the edge of a 65,000 tonne warship.'
The US are understood to be helping with efforts to recover the plane...."