Authorities search for missing F-35 aircraft after Marine pilot ejected during flight over Charleston
- Pilot was parachuted to safety during the flight over South Carolina
- The air base is asking for the public’s help in finding the missing fighter jet
- This is a developing story
A military air base in South Carolina has asked for the public’s help in locating a missing Marines Corps fighter jet after its pilot was ejected from the aircraft Sunday afternoon.
Marine Corps investigators have launched an investigation following the “accident” in which one of their pilots was ejected from an F-35 fighter jet over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon.
The pilot, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, was found alive and taken to a nearby medical center after parachuting onto South Kenwood Drive just a few hundred yards from the air force base in North Charleston.
His wingman landed safely at Joint Base Charleston in an escort aircraft.
“If you have information on the whereabouts of the F-35, please call our Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600,” Joint Base Charleston said in a tweet.
The pilot was flying an F-35 from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Joint Base Charleston hosted Marine One last August when President Joe Biden headed to Washington after his summer vacation in South Carolina
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is located about 35 miles southwest of Charleston and is home to several units of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, including Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which flies F-35B Lightning IIs.
Approximately 4,700 military personnel serve at the 6,900-acre site, which includes a major air-to-air combat area off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia and an air-to-ground combat and bombing range in McIntosh County, Georgia.
It was the home of a decorated Marine Corps pilot who died last month when his fighter jet crashed near a base in San Diego during a training flight.
Major Andrew Mettler was piloting an F/A-18D Hornet when it crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar just before midnight on August 24.
According to Task & Purpose, this crash was the fifth Class A aviation accident – meaning total damage or fatalities exceeding $2 million – in the current fiscal year and the first involving a Marine Corps aircraft.
This is a developing story.