US Military Make Public Appeal For Help To Find Missing F-35
The US military has asked for the public’s help to locate a missing F-35 fighter jet following an incident in South Carolina on Sunday.
A Marine Corp pilot safely ejected from the missing F-35B Lightning II jet at around 2pm after what military officials are calling a “mishap”. The pilot was taken to a local medical centre and was in a stable condition. The name of the pilot has not been released.
Search teams are now trying to find the jet, which was on autopilot when the pilot ejected and could still be in the air, according to a spokesman at Joint Base Charleston. The search is currently focused north of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion based on the last known position of the aircraft. The appeal for public assistance encourages anyone who has knowledge that could aid in the recovery of the jet to contact the operations centre and asks the public to cooperate with the authorities as the search continues.
The jet was manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corp and is used by militaries around the world. The version in question was a vertical take off, and is popular for being difficult to detect by radar. This is not the first time that the F-35 has caused issues, with a jet crashing in South Carolina in 2018.
The Marine Corps said to the BBC that the knowledge of the incident was limited, but that the mishap would be under investigation. However, the missing F-35 has drawn a lot of criticism and mockery from the online community, with jokes and memes already flooding X, formerly known as Twitter since the announcement.
