The US military has appealed to the public to help track down a stealth jet after its pilot ejected due to what was described as a “mishap”.
The advanced, stealth-capable US warplane vanished on Sunday afternoon from radar and the authorities at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.
An investigation has been launched into why the pilot flying
the F-35 — regarded as the world’s most expensive fighter jet — over the southeastern US state ejected. The military offered no immediate explanation other than it had suffered a “mishap”.
But the US Marine Corps was left with an expensive problem: it could not find the jet, leading Joint Base Charleston to ask for help from local residents. “If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center,” a post from the base read on Twitter/X.
Base authorities said they were searching, in co-ordination with federal aviation regulators, near two lakes north of the city of Charleston. State law enforcement also joined the search.
The pilot parachuted to earth in a North Charleston neighbourhood at about 2pm on Sunday. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition, a military spokeswoman said. The pilot’s name has not been released.
The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston.
However, there was disbelief that the plane could simply disappear. “How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device, and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?” South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace asked.