The pilot in the January incident, who also ejected safely, experienced an "in-flight malfunction" during the landing stage of the flight but managed to eject after declaring an in-flight emergency, Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing based at Eielson, told reporters at the time.

In May 2024, a pilot in New Mexico was seriously injured after he ejected from an F-35 before it crashed near an airfield in Albuquerque. In September 2023, a pilot ejected from an F-35 and parachuted into a backyard in Charleston, South Carolina. The jet flew unmanned for several minutes before it crashed into a field about 60 miles away.