Authorities searching for missing F-35 plane after Marine pilot ejected during flight over Charleston.
A South Carolina military airbase has appealed for the public’s help in finding a missing Marines Corps fighter aircraft after its pilot ejected from it on Sunday afternoon.
Marine Corps investigators have launched an inquiry after the ‘mishap’ which saw one of their pilots ejected from an F-35 fighter aircraft over North Charleston Sunday afternoon.
The pilot, based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort was found alive and taken to a nearby medical center after parachuting into South Kenwood Drive just a few hundred yards from the airbase in North Charleston.
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
His wingman, in an accompanying aircraft, safely landed at Joint Base Charleston.
UPDATE The Pentagon has located the crash site more than 12 hours after the pilot ejected in rural Williamsburg County.
