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Help us find our fighter jet, US military asks public

It went missing on Sunday afternoon when the pilot was flying in the southern state of South Carolina.

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by BRIAN ORUTA

News18 September 2023 - 09:04
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In Summary


  • • The pilot is in a stable condition in hospital but officials cannot find the multi-million dollar jet.
  • • Officials said they are focusing their search around two lakes north of the city of Charleston.
The F-35 fighter jet.

The US military has asked for the public's help to try and locate one of its F-35 fighter jets after its pilot ejected from the aircraft.

It went missing on Sunday afternoon when the pilot was flying in the southern state of South Carolina.

The pilot is in a stable condition in hospital but officials cannot find the multi-million dollar jet.

Officials said they are focusing their search around two lakes north of the city of Charleston.

The F-35 is one of the world's most advanced fighter jets.

Based on the jet's last known location the searches of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion are being carried out with federal aviation regulators.

It is not yet clear why the pilot ejected from the aircraft.

Joint Base Charleston posted its appeal on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said the jet had been involved in a "mishap".

"The pilot ejected safely and was transferred to a local medical center in stable condition. Emergency response teams are still trying to locate the F-35," it said.

"The public is asked to cooperate with military and civilian authorities as the effort continues."

It encouraged anyone with information that could help its recovery teams to contact its operations centre.

The jet is made by Lockheed Martin and are thought to cost around $80m (£65m) each.

In 2018, the US military temporarily grounded its entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets after a crash in South Carolina.

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