U.S. News
Bizarre 911 Call Reveals F-35 Ejection Chaos: “Not Sure Where the Airplane Is”
Clear Facts:
- An F-35 military plane goes missing, with the ejected pilot landing in a South Carolina resident’s backyard.
- The $90 million stealth jet kept flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing, and the military took more than a day to locate the debris, even seeking help on social media.
- The ejected pilot was taken to a hospital and discharged, and the entire incident is under ongoing investigation.
In a hair-raising incident in South Carolina, an F-35, the “most lethal, stealthy, and survivable aircraft,” as described by Lockheed Martin, mysteriously disappeared, leaving the pilot to eject and astonishingly land in a resident’s backyard.
The event unraveled with wild 911 calls and a baffled neighbor reporting, “We got a pilot in the house.”
This unforeseen scenario saw the pilot, a service member with decades of flying experience, admitting his utter cluelessness about the whereabouts of the $90 million jet.
This misadventure has left more questions than answers and reflects a perplexing gap in our military’s tracking and communication capabilities.
The 911 dispatcher appeared utterly taken aback by the extraordinary situation, with a resident and the ejected pilot trying to explain the bizarre incident.
“Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling,” the aviator asserted.
The jet continued its flight, sans pilot, for a considerable distance before meeting its inevitable crash.
Eyewitnesses on the ground depict a scenario straight from a thriller movie, reporting seeing the plane flying “almost inverted” and hearing a “rather loud noise” before a loud boom.
It is unsettling to ponder how such a lethal and advanced piece of military hardware was left to its own devices, flying over populated areas.
This incident brings to light serious concerns regarding military preparedness and the effectiveness of the security features intended to protect both the pilot’s location and the plane’s classified systems.
The aircraft is designed to ‘zeroize’ all secure communication upon pilot ejection, but the unsettling delay in locating a massive fighter jet raises eyebrows.
The Marines contend that the incident could offer a silver lining, showing that the safety feature designed to keep the jet stable in level flight after pilot ejection worked as intended.
“The good news is it appeared to work as advertised,” the Marine Corps said in a statement.
The F-35 avoided crashing into a densely populated area surrounding the airport and found its end in an empty field and forested area.
However, the incident exposes glaring vulnerabilities and challenges the effectiveness of the strategies in place.
It is crucial to question why the multimillion-dollar aircraft wasn’t tracked as it continued its rogue flight over South Carolina and why it could take the military more than a day to locate a jet that had traversed populated areas.
The incident, which is still under rigorous investigation, opens a dialogue about the implications of such occurrences and the necessity for enhanced strategies to prevent the recurrence of such alarming episodes.
It prompts reflection on military transparency and the imperative to address potential flaws in military technology and response systems, ensuring the security and efficacy of our nation’s defense mechanisms.
We want to know what you think! Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Ken Schaefer
September 25, 2023 at 8:27 am
Stay with what you know and what you’re told
and stop surmising what you can make up in
your little head
Colonel Mike Holdcraft
September 26, 2023 at 7:11 pm
Stealth jet! Why can’t it be tracked? It’s a stealth aircraft. Unless the pilot turns on the emergency tracking it is supposed to be hard to track. DUH!
John M.
September 26, 2023 at 10:06 pm
If the aircraft was capable to fly on for 60 more miles why did the pilot abandon it? A better pilot may have been able to save the aircraft. Many badly damaged aircraft have been successfully landed in tact by a good pilot.
Frederick Chester Harwell II
September 26, 2023 at 11:36 pm
The comment that caught my eye was that the manual “Eject” switch sounds too close to other more benign switches. I am not an Aeronautical Engineer but I would move it to an area where there was nothing else near it.
Paul Beaumont
September 27, 2023 at 4:07 am
AS A FORMER NAVY MAN, ACCUSTOMED TO CONFIDENTIAL AND SECRET WEAPONS, THEREE IS NO SENSIBLE REASON FOR A STEALTH AIRCRAFT FLYING OVER ITS OWN COUNTRY TO NOT BE TRACTED AND ACCOUNTED FOR. I LIVE IN TUCSON, AZ. WHERE WE HAVE MILITARY JETS FLYING EXERCIZES ALL THE TIME. THEY RARELY IF EVER GET BEYOND THE VISIBILITY OF THE AIRFIELD TOWER. UNLESS WE HAD ENEMY AIRCRAFT APPROCHING THE EAST COAST THERE IS NO REASON TO FLY STEALTH.
Kate
September 27, 2023 at 10:01 am
I hope the pilot is getting the best possible medical attention,
he may need an MRI, or possibly a through water boarding.
agooga
September 27, 2023 at 10:08 pm
I can’t wait to hear (if we ever do)why and how the pilot punched out. It’s like the aircrafts computer was hacked
Shane McIntosh
November 23, 2023 at 6:56 pm
Maybe it’s time for the engineers to Ho back to the office
Rather than working from home.