A debris field discovered on Monday has been confirmed as the remnants of an F-35 fighter jet that went missing the previous day near Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot had safely ejected during a “mishap” involving the aircraft.
The Marine Corps, in conjunction with a defense official familiar with the search, verified the identity of the debris field. It is situated approximately two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, which had led the search efforts. In an official statement, the Marine Corps announced the transition of incident command to the USMC to initiate the recovery process and urged the local community to avoid the area to facilitate the recovery operation.
The pilot had ejected safely on Sunday and was transported to a nearby medical facility in stable condition, as reported by Joint Base Charleston via a Facebook post. However, the details of the mishap remain undisclosed, with the Marines emphasizing the ongoing investigation’s importance to preserve its integrity.
Before its disappearance, the aircraft was last traced near Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, two significant bodies of water northwest of Charleston. Joint Base Charleston had sought the public’s assistance in locating the missing aircraft.
The F-35 fighter jet belonged to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, a unit primarily dedicated to training pilots to fulfill annual training requirements, according to information available on the unit’s website.
In response to a series of three “Class-A aviation mishaps” occurring over the past six weeks, the Marine Corps issued a halt in flight operations. Acting Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith mandated a two-day pause, with the objective of evaluating safe flight operations, ground safety, maintenance and flight procedures, and the maintenance of combat readiness within all aviation units in the service.
The previous two mishaps transpired in August, with a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet combat jet crashing near San Diego on August 24, resulting in the pilot’s fatality. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. Shortly thereafter, a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey crashed during military exercises in Australia, leading to the loss of three US Marines and severe injuries to five others. This crash is also under investigation.
Despite no evident link between these incidents, all have been categorized as Class-A mishaps by the Marine Corps, which signifies an incident resulting in a fatality or more than $2.5 million in property damage. The gravity of these accidents prompted the suspension of Marine aviation operations, a move aimed at reinforcing established policies, practices, and procedures to enhance public safety, protect personnel, and ensure the Marine Corps maintains a highly-trained and ready fighting force, as outlined in the Marine Corps’ official statement.
