US military asks for public’s help after F-35 jet goes missing

The US military made an unusual call to the public to help locate its multimillion-dollar plane which is a stealth-capable F-35 fighter jet after it vanished during flight.

The US authorities labelled the unusual incident a ‘mishap’ after the pilot flying that F-35 in the southeastern state of South Carolina on Sunday ejected.

According to Al-Jazeera, he survived and was taken to hospital where he was in stable condition. The pilot’s name has not been released.

The military, however, was left with an expensive problem: it couldn’t find the jet, leading Joint Base Charleston to ask for help from 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 X, formerly known as Twitter.

Base authorities said they were searching in coordination with federal aviation regulators around two lakes north of Charleston city.

We’re working with @MCASBeaufortSC to locate an F-35 that was involved in a mishap this afternoon. The pilot ejected safely. If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600.

— Joint Base Charleston (@TeamCharleston) September 17, 2023

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter also joined the search after weather improved in the area.

The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston.

It added, “We’re coordinating with @MCASBeaufortSC, the 2nd MAW out of MCAS Cherry Point, @Navy_Region_SE, the FAA, the @CivilAirPatrol, as well as local, county, and state law enforcement across SC. Teams continue to search for the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B, using ground and air assets.”

We’re coordinating with @MCASBeaufortSC, the 2nd MAW out of MCAS Cherry Point, @Navy_Region_SE, the FAA, the @CivilAirPatrol, as well as local, county, and state law enforcement across SC. Teams continue to search for the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B, using ground and air assets.

— Joint Base Charleston (@TeamCharleston) September 18, 2023

The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 based in Beaufort, not far from South Carolina’s Atlantic coast.

The planes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, cost about $80m each.