January 27, 2022: -On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy said it was making arrangements to recover an F-35C warplane that decreased into the South China Sea after a landing mishap this week.

Seven U.S. military personnel were hurt in an accident on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, and the pilot ejected, the Navy said.

“I confirm the aircraft impacted the flight deck during landing and subsequently decreased to the water,” said Lieutenant Nicholas Lingo, spokesperson for the U.S. 7th Fleet.

“The U.S. Navy makes recovery operations arrangements for the F-35C aircraft.”

Asked regarding an unsourced media report suggesting there were fears that the aircraft could decrease into the hands of China, claiming most of the South China Sea, Lingo replied, which referred to the People’s Republic of China, “We cannot speculate on what the PRC’s intentions are on this matter.”

It was the second crash which an F-35 made by Lockheed Martin and a carrier in just more than two months.

In November, an F-35 from Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, though the pilot ejected and safely came back to the ship. Britain’s Ministry of Defence said that aircraft was subsequently recovered.

A South Korean F-35A fighter made an emergency landing in training earlier this month.

In April 2019, a Japanese F-35 stealth fighter crashed in the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, killing the pilot.

The U.S. Navy said that the pilot ejected safely in Monday’s incident but was among the personnel hurt.

The Pentagon says that the two Carrier Strike Groups, led by the Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln, began operations in the South China Sea. They entered the disputed sea for training as Taiwan reported a new Chinese air force incursion at the top of the waterway.

On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, which makes F-35 jets.