Prince Charles has today been forced to cancel his visit to the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier as the Royal Navy scrambles to find a missing £100million fighter jet after it crashed seconds after take-off.
As Charles and Camilla tour Egypt, their ship is currently in the Mediterranean Sea, circling an area to try and find the F-35B Lightning II plane.
Yesterday, The Heir to the Crown, Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall and her husband, were due to fly by helicopter to The Great Sphinx. However, it was canceled for “operational reasons”.
Charles and Camilla were royal tourists yesterday. The stunning Pyramids of Giza were on the couple’s Middle East trip. They visited Cairo to see them.
The couple walked carefully up several steep steps hewn out of the side of the 454ft high pyramid called Khufu – or the Pyramid of Cheops – tomb of a pharaoh. The two-million blocks are each 50 tons in weight.
Britain has called on the US to help find and salvage a fighter jet that crashed into the Mediterranean after its pilot ejected shortly after take off. Royal Navy servicemen are working with the Americans to recover the F-35B from more than a mile below the surface.
The UK is believed to have the equipment and manpower to rescue the destroyed £100million aircraft but their Nato allies were reportedly closer.

On the third day in their Middle East tour, the Prince of Wales (left) and the Duchess Of Cornwall (right), visited the Great Sphinx at Giza. Today Charles was meant to visit the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier but has cancelled after a £100m plane crashed into the sea

An RAF pilot was forced to eject over the Mediterranean yesterday, sending his £100million stealth jet crashing into the sea
The Royal Navy were racing towards the crash site amid fears Russia will try to grab the jet which is packed with top secret technology.
It is believed that divers, mini submarines, and inflatable bags will be involved in the operation. These could possibly lift the aircraft to the Mediterranean surface.
US officials are concerned that Russia and its allies will not save the top-secret technology of the plane. They would like to examine the stealth technology in detail to determine a method of defeating it.
After Ankara claimed it would be using a Russian missile defense system, former President Donald Trump stopped the transfer of four F-35A aircraft to Turkey.
Russian technicolor was not allowed to examine the radar profile of an attack plane or look at its technology, according to Pentagon.
After taking off from HMS Queen Elizabeth yesterday, a pilot in the RAF was forced from his aircraft and plunged into the ocean.
He was seen hanging off the HMS Queen Elizabeth edge, his parachute line caught against the edge.
The crash caused international panic as the plane plunged into international waters. This triggered an effort to locate the next-generation aircraft before foreign governments could reach it. The F35B crashed into such an area for the first time.
It is extremely sensitive because the F-35 can fly in hostile terrain at hypersonic speed thanks to the technology that was built by the US.
New questions are raised by this week’s F-35B crash, which Britain currently owns 24.
The UK is set to buy 138 of the fighter jets from US aviation giant Lockheed Martin for £9.1billion in the coming years.
In June 2014 a USAF F-35A had a catastrophic engine fire caused by a fractured rotor which saw it turn into a blaze as it took off in Florida. A fire in the weapons bay of a USMC F-35B caused it to catch on fire mid-flight two years later.
The US was the most populous country in 2018, with a staggering 67 percent. After a fighter jet collided in South Carolina, a pilot on the F-35B was forced to flee mid-air during an exercise.
An even more impressive achievement was last year. USNI News reported that F-35B plane crashed in California near Naval Air Facility El Centro after hitting a KC-130J..
According to US officials, the US is helping to salvage the plane.
The UK is equipped with a team that can perform the operations, but the American team has their own machinery and are closer to the site of the incident.
The Times claims that navy sources have indicated that deep-water remote-controlled boats will be involved in the search for the F-35. They’ll attach large inflatable bags to them so it can rise up on its own.
It is however likely to take a very long time to reach its destination, as it lies more than one mile below the Mediterranean’s surface.


Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is an American Navy winch system that can be used by the Navy. It is shown above.

The US Navy has a device known as a TPL-25 tow pinger locator, which is used by the Navy to locate the F-35’s emergency relocate pinger.

The U.S. Navy’s research ship, Comodoro Rivadavia (Argentina), deploys the cable-controlled Undersea Recovery Vehicle 21 (CURV-21). CURV was designed to fulfill the deep-ocean recovery needs of the U.S Navy down to maximum depths of 20,000 feet.

The F-35B Lightning, file image), crashed into the ocean shortly after it took off for a routine exercise from HMS Queen Elizabeth (royal navy’s flagship aircraft carrier). A rescue team was then sent to the area to find the pilot.
Subsalve, a US company produces what it calls ‘underwater Lift Bags’.
It has designed bags for US Navy personnel and offers models which can carry up to 48 tons of weight. When carrying its weapons and pilot, the F-35 can weigh up to 30tonnes.
The aircraft is still not found but the US Navy uses a TPL-25 tow pinger locator device to locate the F-35’s emergency relocate pinger.
TPL-25 systems consist of a device that is to be towed behind the vessel. The device can locate pingers at depths up to 20,000 feet (3.8 miles).
Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is also available to the US Navy.
The navy has posted a page on its website that the device can be used to recover large, heavy, sunken and bulky objects, such as planes or small boats.
The device was used by the US Navy to raise a Canadian helicopter out of the water in March.
A Royal Navy source told the Times: ‘A number of nations have the capability to recover an aircraft from that depth. The Americans have offered their assistance. We asked them.
The military was still trying to find the exact location of the plane’s downing and is gathering all the necessary equipment to retrieve it.
Britain and the United Kingdom are currently in the vicinity of the suspicious area, trying to prevent the secretive plane from falling into the hands or equipment that is not believed to be nearby.
The source said bringing the plane back to the surface was ‘not rocket science’ but ‘the problem is finding and getting to it — you need a machine that can get to that depth’.
It is possible that the plane may have gone under the water to another area, which could raise concerns about where it might be. They added: ‘We know the vicinity but we need to find it and attach floating devices to it.’
Following his ejection, the rockets in his plane seat shot him up to more than 100ft before his parachute opened.
However, The Sun was told by a source that pilot floated down toward the warship. He ‘came within inches of hitting’ the flight deck.
A cross-wind allegedly blew him instead, and his parachute lines became stuck on the runway’s edge at the end of the 900 foot long runway.
The pilot, who was quick to think of alternatives, was left hanging from the warship’s edge at 60 feet above the sea.
He pulled an escape button, which freed him from his harness. Then he plunged into water.
Sources said that he made the right decision.
“We train to land in water.” It is not a good idea to become entangled in parachute lines and be dragged by a warship 65,000 tonnes.
As the UK’s most advanced and expensive jet, the single-seater can land vertically and only needs a short runway to take off.
It is the first one Britain has lost and the incident is the first mishap for the RAF’s F-35B fleet and for the £3billion aircraft carrier which left the UK seven months ago.
Howard Dyer (a consultant in regulatory aviation) told MailOnline that today’s military aircraft do not need to be built to the same standard as civilian planes because they don’t fall within international standards.
“Everyone who works in civil aviation has to adhere to the same rules. The same rules do not apply to military plans that are prepared by governments and have government officials onboard.
“If you see any trash planes, it will be military. The civilian aircrafts that fly over countries are subject to higher standards.
“But military ones can only with permission, or if invading their country or sea.
Chris Parry, a retired Rear Admiral said that although an investigation will determine the exact cause of the crash it seems likely that engine failure caused the accident.
“Despite the F-35B’s excellent safety record, some of these high-performance aircraft that operate in the highly demanding maritime environment would have to be lost some day.”

This map depicts the exact location where the F-35B stealth aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

The next-generation aircraft crashed into international waters. This triggered an effort to retrieve it from the seabed before any foreign power, especially Russia, could reach it. Above: HMS Queen Elizabeth File Image
According to the Ministry of Defence, there were no hostile actions in connection with last night’s crash. The investigation centered on human or technical error last night.
According to reports, the helicopter rescued the pilot with minor injuries. After the pilot was injured, his family received information about the accident. Yesterday afternoon’s statement by military leaders included details of the event.
Having sailed to the Far East and attracted the attention of both Russia and China, the £3billion Queen Elizabeth was last known to have been in the eastern Mediterranean, after leaving Oman.
Tomorrow, the Prince of Wales will visit the carrier as part of his royal trip to Egypt.
The RAF calls the Lightning a fifth-generation combat plane capable of carrying out air-to–surface strikes as well as electronic warfare.
An array of sensors allows the aircraft to fly undetected within enemy airspace. Not only were there eight F-35s British on HMS Queen Elizabeth; there were also ten US-based aircraft.
The F-35Bs have performed more than 2,000 takeoffs and landings with no incidents. The F-35Bs of the UK are located at RAF Marham, Norfolk. They can also be deployed to the carrier as part 617 Squadron (the Dambusters’). The US military tested the F-35B’s combat system in 2020 and found 276 faults.
The Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated last night that “the F-35 crashed soon after takeoff.” We’re happy that the pilot was safe and is now back aboard. Operational and training flights are continuing.

F35s are capable of hovering as they approach land, so a smaller flight deck is required. A F-35B fighter aircraft prepares to take off from HMS Queen Elizabeth, in the Arabian Sea. It was photographed on October 21st.
According to the Ministry of Defence, “A British F-35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth was forced to eject during routine flying operations in Europe this morning.”
“The pilot is safe and sound, the investigation has started. We are unable to speak further. Other aircraft and vessels were not involved.
Experts from the US and the RAF have conducted a thorough military aviation investigation.
America offered input to the manufacture of the aircraft and encouraged its NATO allies to share the costs. 15% of each jet is made from parts supplied by British companies, while others will be manufactured in Italy.
The planes are still plagued with a variety of issues, which has caused the costs to skyrocket.
It is possible that the technology underpinning this new generation of warplanes could fail, causing them to not function correctly.
The true cost of the British planes delivered this year is estimated to be over £150million each to cover ‘extras’ such as software upgrades and spare parts. It is possible that the software in the aircraft’s computer system could be vulnerable to hackers and it cannot be checked independently by Britain.

It is also hindering the aircraft’s capabilities due to the weak internet connection on HMS Queen Elizabeth, the principal Royal Navy aeroplane carrier.
Although the F-35 cost is the focal point of attention, it has also led to embarrassing reports about operational issues in the United States.
A mock air combat was held in 2015. The cutting-edge aircraft was defeated by an F-16 from the 70s.
Pentagon tested the combat system of jet fighters and found 276 errors in 2020. The 25mm cannon’s excessive vibrating and the problems with the aircraft’s ‘virtual truth’ helmet were among them. There were issues with overheating, premature wear and vulnerability to fire.
The US Air Force has temporarily grounded many of its F-35 stealth aircraft while they investigate an oxygen supply problem.
The Marine Corps, who also operate the same F-35B model the UK has purchased, was forced to ground its planes after flaws were found in the computer system.