The stealth abilities of a US fighter jet appear to be functioning too well, as it took officials hours to identify a debris field after an F-35 went missing after the pilot evacuated due to a “mishap.”
Officials said the debris was discovered Monday evening roughly two hours northeast of Joint Installation Charleston, an air installation in North Charleston, but provided no other details.
The base was collaborating with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to “locate an F-35 that was involved in a mishap” on Sunday afternoon.
According to a Facebook post at 5:35 p.m. ET, the pilot was able to safely escape from the aircraft, an F-35B Lightning II jet, and was brought to a local medical center in stable condition.
The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing — the jet belongs to one of the unit’s training squadrons — confirmed Sunday’s “mishap” and that “the pilot had safely ejected from the aircraft.”
“The mishap is currently under investigation.” Captain Joe Leitner, the spokesperson for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, said.
According to Jeremy Huggins, a spokesman for Joint Base Charleston, the jet was in autopilot mode when the pilot ejected. Authorities believed it had the potential to persist in the air for some time.
The FAA did not reply quickly to a request for comment. The circumstances that induced the pilot to eject from the plane were unclear.
In a statement, Joint Base Charleston said it cooperated with Marine Corps and Navy forces, as well as the FAA, Civil Air Patrol, and local law enforcement across South Carolina. According to the base, searchers were employing “both ground and air assets” in their efforts.
