The plane, which is assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, the unit that trains F-35 pilots for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and international militaries, experienced a fire in the aft end of the aircraft.
The pilot successfully shut down the plane and escaped unharmed.
The fire is the second major incident experienced by the program in recent weeks. Test flights were temporarily halted on June 13 for inspections of an oil flow management valve fitting inside the engine.
No F-35s have been destroyed since production began in 2006. Lockheed has delivered more than 100 F-35s since then.
The aircraft are being used for operational testing and pilot training only. The Marine Corps is expected to declare its version of the aircraft battle-ready next year.
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