US frontline F-35 jet goes missing after pilot ejects

A military airbase in South Carolina has asked the public for help in locating a missing Marine Corps F35 fighter jet. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when the pilot had to eject from the aircraft. Following the incident, Marine Corps investigators have initiated an inquiry into what they describe as a ‘mishap.’ This incident led to the pilot ejecting from an F-35 fighter plane over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon. The pilot, who is stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, was found alive. He safely parachuted down to South Kenwood Drive, just a short distance from the North Charleston airbase. Meanwhile, the pilot’s wingman, flying in another aircraft, landed safely at Joint Base Charleston. The Joint Base Charleston made an appeal on Twitter, stating, ‘If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the F-35, please contact our Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600.’ The Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort is located approximately 35 miles southwest of Charleston. It serves as the home to various units of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, including the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which operates F-35B Lightning II aircraft. This military facility, sprawling across 6,900 acres, is staffed by around 4,700 military personnel. It boasts a substantial air-to-air combat training area off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, as well as an air-to-ground combat and bombing range in McIntosh County, Georgia. Just last month, the base mourned the loss of a highly decorated Marine Corps pilot. Major Andrew Mettler was flying an F/A-18D Hornet during a training flight when it crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, near San Diego. The incident occurred shortly before midnight on August 24. This crash marked the fifth Class-A aviation mishap of the current fiscal year, defined as incidents resulting in damage exceeding $2 million or involving fatalities. Remarkably, it was the first such incident involving a Marine Corps aircraft, as reported by Task & Purpose.