HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Flight operations have resumed at Hill Air Force Base following last week's crash of an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet.
Base officials said operations resumed Tuesday, nearly a week after the pilot ejected moments before Wednesday's crash at the north end of the runway. The unidentified pilot suffered minor injuries and was quickly released from the hospital.
In a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon, the 388th Fighter Wing said operations were resumed because there "is no indication of any additional risk" to pilots or staff.
Col. Craig Andrle said Thursday that the plane had been "totally destroyed."
The investigation into what caused the crash remains ongoing and is expected to take a while longer.
"Flying military aircraft is a risky business, we all understand that," said Col. Andrle last week. "So these things do happen. Thankfully they're fairly rare obviously we're going to take the time to figure out why it happened and to see if there's anything we need to do differently in the future."
Since the accident, local flying out of the base had been paused and the other F-35s from the 388th Fighter Wing fleet were grounded.
"All of us are thankful for the heartfelt response and care we’ve seen from our local residents around Hill AFB. We’re genuinely grateful for their support of our Airmen and our mission," the unit tweeted.
Earlier this year, the base's F-35 jets were grounded due to concerns over ejection seats issues.
