Five sailors have been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in connection with the leaked video that captured the moment an F-35C Lightning II crashed aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea.
Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Zach Harrell told the Washington Examiner on Friday that the five who have been disciplined include an ensign, a senior chief, and three chief petty officers. The unidentified sailors were charged under Article 92 of the code, which is failure to obey a lawful order.
It is a video of a computer monitor showing the Jan. 24 crash in which the F-35C, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 147, roughly hits the boat as flames burst out the rear and skids across the deck before crashing into the South China Sea.
Photos and other videos were shared on social media, but the people responsible for those were not charged. The rationale was that the video of the incident came from the PLAT, a tool to assist pilots approaching a carrier landing, and thus was classified as leaking of government property without proper clearance, according to USNI News.
“We remain grateful to the highly trained sailors aboard USS Carl Vinson who immediately responded to ensure that the pilot was recovered from the water, all injured personnel were cared for, and flight deck was cleared and reset for operations,” Harrell added. “After a short pause in accordance with safety procedures, the rapid response from the crew enabled flight operations resume with minimal impact to mission requirements.”
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The Navy is still trying to recover the helicopter and has mentioned the possibility of a rival nation attempting to recover it first to gain insight into U.S. military technology.
“We’re certainly mindful of the value of an F-35, in every respect of what value means,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters last month. “And as we continue to attempt recovery of the aircraft, we’re going to do it obviously with safety foremost in mind.”
Seven sailors were injured through the mishap. Three of them required medical evacuation to a treatment facility in the Philippines, while the other four were treated by onboard medical personnel. The three who were evacuated are in stable condition.
