Royal Navy pilot who crashed off end of carrier in F-35 tried to 'slap on the brakes'
A Royal Navy F-35B fighter pilot has told how he had to "slap on the brakes" of his £100m jet before ejecting to save his life as the plane rolled off the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Speaking soon after the incident in November 2021, the pilot, known as Hux, recalled having only a matter of seconds to react.
Hux, whose account of the terrifying incident features in the "emotional final episode" of the BBC's The Warship: Tour of Duty documentary series this Sunday, described how the jet suddenly lost acceleration, saying: "I tried for emergency power – that didn't work, then I tried to slap on the brakes – that didn't work either... so I kind of knew it was going to roll off the ship."
The UK F-35 jet from HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed during flying operations over the Mediterranean.
Fortunately for the pilot, he was saved by his ejector seat "and extremely good luck", and was left with only minor injuries to his neck.
He says he saw the sea beneath him "and then a second later I could see the flight deck of the ship starting to appear beneath me".
Hux was able to make it onto the deck of the carrier. If he had missed, he risked being dragged under the 65,000-tonne warship.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said at the time that the F-35B fighter jet had "ditched in the sea shortly after takeoff from HMS Queen Elizabeth".
He added: "I'm glad to say that the pilot was recovered and is okay and we will recover the aircraft."
Director and producer of the BBC series, Chris Terrill said on Twitter, that the episode "is entitled It's Not Over Till it's Over for good reason".
"It is an emotional final episode that shows the Royal Navy at its best even when beset by disaster," he added.
Since the incident, an official investigation has concluded that the sudden loss of power in the jet on take-off was likely caused by a cover being left off on one of its intakes.
According to the BBC, Hux's story will be included in the episode as well as how the HMS Queen Elizabeth was "harassed by Russian aircraft and how it played a risky game of hide-and-seek with the Chinese Navy".
BBC's Warship series has been telling the "moving story of navy life on board HMS Queen Elizabeth's maiden voyage", following the aircraft carrier on her eight-month, 49,000-nautical mile voyage last year.
In an earlier episode, HMS Queen Elizabeth's then-Captain Angus Essenhigh was shown informing the ship's crew of having to send a medical team to HMS Kent and the news of the tragic death of the sailor.
The episode focused on the Royal Navy Leading Engineering Technician Daniel Harrison who died on board HMS Kent on 10 July as well as dealing with the issue of a Covid outbreak on the sea vessel.
Episode six of The Warship: Tour of Duty will be shown on BBC Two this Sunday, 26 February, at 21:00 GMT.
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