17 September 2023 , 23:37
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Military officials have asked the public to help in the search for a missing fighter jet after its pilot was forced to eject.
US Air Force investigators are attempting to locate the F-35 jet, which was flying over South Carolina at the time the Marine pilot made his swift exit.
The airman, based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, was found alive and transported to a nearby medical centre. After the ejection, he parachuted to the ground - but the location of his $150million warplane remains a mystery.
It was last seen in the skies above North Charleston. The pilot of an accompanying fighter jet safely landed at Joint Base Charelston.
"If you have any information on the whereabouts of the F-35, please call our Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600," Joint Base Charleston said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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Additionally, the joint base states that it is collaborating with the Marine Corps and the Federal Aviation Administration to locate the concerned F-35. The area around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, to the north of the joint base, is said to be the focus.
The incident was the sixth class-A accident this fiscal year, which amounts to a fatality or damage over £1,721,060 in damages (Getty Images)"Based on the jet’s last-known position and in coordination with the FAA, we are focusing our attention north of JB Charleston, around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion,"
Several units of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing are housed at the Marine Corps Air Station at Beaufort, which is located about 35 miles to the southwest of Charleston.
This includes the F-35B Lightning II-flying Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501. The 6,900 acre site has 4,700 military personnel and uses a massive combat area to test its air defense.
It also contains a ground-to-air combat area, which is located in Georgia's McIntosh County. A highly decorated Marine Corps pilot who lived there died last month when his combat aircraft crashed during a training mission close to a base in San Diego.
On August 24, just before midnight, Major Andrew Mettler was operating an F/A-18D Hornet when it crashed nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
According to Task & Purpose, that incident was the first to involve a Marine Corps plane and the sixth Class-A aviation accident in the current fiscal year—defined as damage over $2 million or a fatality.
Following a "off-base vehicle accident" in 2021, an airman assigned to Joint Base Charleston perished, according to authorities.
According to the authorities, the airman was a member of the 437th Airlift Wing and was killed in a collision, according to ABC.
According to the US Defense Casualty Analysis System, there were 844 military deaths in 2022. Of those deaths, 265 were accidental while 31 were deemed as a homicide.
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