F-35 pilot held 50-minute airborne conference call with engineers before fighter jet crashed in Alaska

Video Ad Feedback Video shows pilot survive after dramatic fighter jet crash at Alaska air base 0:43 - Source: CNN

Video shows pilot survive after dramatic fighter jet crash at Alaska air base 0:43

A US Air Force F-35 pilot spent 50 minutes on an airborne conference call with Lockheed Martin engineers trying to solve a problem with his fighter jet before he ejected and the plane plunged to the ground in Alaska earlier this year, an accident report released this week says.

The January 28 crash at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks was recorded in a video that showed the aircraft dropping straight down and exploding in a fireball. The pilot ejected safely, suffering only minor injuries, but the $200 million fighter jet was destroyed.

An Air Force investigation blamed the cr