F-35 Down (or missing?) in South Carolina?

Just saw this:

www.zerohedge.com...

An F-35 stealth fighter jet disappeared on Sunday afternoon following a mid-flight "mishap," Joint Base Charleston wrote on X.

Joint Base Charleston continued, "The pilot ejected safely," but said, "If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35."

I’m curious though… why do they need help finding it?

Maybe look for a smoldering crater?

Glad the pilot is ok - the ask from the base seems odd though.

Particularly since it appears other aircraft were up there with him.

a reply to: VulcanWerks

Well, it is capable of flying on autopilot. Could be hundreds of miles form the ejection point. Might be in the ocean depending on the direction it was flying. If it flew itself that far, the pilot has a big bill that they will never be able to pay off.

It’s both. The B has a range of 900 miles with a full fuel load, but it’s doubtful he was even close to full when he ejected, so it won’t be that far from the ejection site.

They need help because there’s some remote places to look, and it might have gone into the water. You want to try to narrow down locations before launching a massive search.

a reply to: VulcanWerks

As if people don't have enough to worry about.
I imagine a unpiloted jet could take out a few homes.

I didn't catch what the mishap was. Did it say? Did he clip another flight?

a reply to: TheLieWeLive

It crashed several hours ago. The pilot put it on autopilot to try to keep it away from people from what I’ve heard.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I hate he lost his bird but at least everyone is safe and unscathed.

I’ve been reading other articles about this and it still strikes me as odd…

There were two planes, and the accident was not due to contact with one another.

One pilot ejects… one pilot can still see plane and catch up to it. They should at least have an almost exact heading and last known location.

Instead, the piloted plane breaks off and lands. Perhaps fuel had something to do with that.

I’ll be curious to hear what the pilot who ejected’s take here/the official story.

a reply to: VulcanWerks

When one pilot ejects, and there are two planes, the second plane doesn't give a # about where the empty plane is heading, or "catching up" to it. His only concern is if the ejected pilot has a good chute, where he's coming down, and coordinating rescue for said pilot. They try to stay in the area until someone arrives that can take over coordination, or someone on the ground arrives at the scene, but if they get low on fuel, they have to land, or there are going to be two rescues going on.

originally posted by: VulcanWerks

I’m curious though… why do they need help finding it?

Maybe look for a smoldering crater?

Glad the pilot is ok - the ask from the base seems odd though.

Particularly since it appears other aircraft were up there with him.

Its stealth duh

They looked at the radar data, and are concentrating the search around a couple of lakes north of Charleston.

Its on its way to another country...if anything is found it will be "obvious wreckage"... and I shall laugh quietly

originally posted by: Zaphod58
They looked at the radar data, and are concentrating the search around a couple of lakes north of Charleston.

Any indication as to why the pilot ejected?

a reply to: VulcanWerks

Not yet. It'll probably be a day or two before rumors start to circulate.

a reply to: Zaphod58

You are exactly right. People would be surprised how easy it is to lose track of somebody in a chute. Another important point is that by staying in the area, the downed pilot knows that he is not alone and help is on the way. Ejections are serious things, they can cause physical injury and they can cause mental trauma. One of the first things we were taught was that a downed pilot may be disoriented and either panic or fight you. In the water if they did this you kept them at a distance until they tired out or if they grabbed you, you take them under and hold them until they release you to go to the surface. The other aircraft just by being there relieves a lot of that confusion. Things like this and the hypothermia aspect were some of the more interesting parts of SAR school. I got credit for a whole semester of Psych for what I learned in that class.

imho the F-35 has earned the reputation of Gooney Bird

imho the F-35 has earned the reputation of Gooney Bird

plagued with double posts ...not done intentionally

a reply to: St Udio

And that shows you don’t know a damn thing about it except all the negative crap you read.

a reply to: JIMC5499

Apparently he landed, gathered his wits and gear, and walked to a nearby house and rang the doorbell.