A leaked video shows a British F-35 combat jet crashing into the Mediterranean Sea after failing to take off from the <i>HMS Queen Elizabeth</i> aircraft carrier. The rare incident saw the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2021/11/23/uk-us-and-nato-vow-to-find-missing-f-35-jet-before-russia/" target="_blank">UK</a> lose one of its most advanced 24 warplanes. It was one of eight F-35 fighter jets docked on the new carrier. The video, reportedly leaked from a Navy whatsapp group, showed the <a href="https://thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2021/11/18/race-to-recover-uks-100m-f-35-jet-before-it-is-found-by-turkey-or-russia/" target="_blank">incident</a> on the morning of November 17 in which the plane failed to accelerate up the ramp, crashing into the water soon after take off. The British Ministry of Defence said the crash happened during a “routine operation” over international waters. The pilot, who appears in the video to eject safely, was returned to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier and an investigation was launched. Operational and training flights on board <i>HMS Queen Elizabeth</i> are continuing, despite the incident, according to the British defence ministry. The aircrafts are Britain's most advanced and expensive jets. Costing almost £100m, they can land vertically and combine radar-evading stealth technology with supersonic speeds.
