Debris from F-35 fighter jet that crashed in South Carolina after pilot ejected found; Marines pause aviation operations for two days

Authorities recovered a debris tract contiguous from a Marine Corps F-35 stealth combatant pitchy that crashed successful South Carolina aft the aviator ejected and parachuted to safety.

The debris tract was located successful agrarian Williamsburg County, according to the Marine Corps’ Joint Base Charleston. The tract is astir 2 hours northeast of the base, and residents were being asked to debar the country portion the betterment squad worked to unafraid it.

Authorities had been searching for the pitchy since the pilot, whose sanction hasn’t been released, parachuted to information into a North Charleston neighbourhood astir 2pm connected Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, wherever helium was successful unchangeable condition, Marines Major Melanie Salinas said.

The Marine Corps announced contiguous it was pausing operations for 2 days aft the combatant jet’s clang — the 3rd costly mishap successful caller weeks.

General Eric Smith, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the stand-down connected Monday portion authorities searched adjacent 2 South Carolina lakes for the missing FB-35B Lightning II aircraft.

It’s the 3rd lawsuit documented arsenic a Class-A mishap implicit the past six weeks, according to a Marine Corps announcement. Such incidents hap erstwhile damages scope US$2.5 cardinal ($4.2m) oregon more, a Department of Defence craft is destroyed, oregon idiosyncratic dies oregon is permanently disabled.

Social media station from Joint Base Charleston curing the hunt for an F-35B combatant pitchy that went missing aft the aviator ejected.

Commanders volition walk the stand-down reinforcing harmless flying policies, practices and procedures with their Marines, according to the Monday release.

The announcement gave nary details connected the 2 erstwhile incidents. But successful August, 3 US Marines were killed successful the clang of a V-22B Osprey tiltrotor craft during a grooming workout successful Australia, and a Marine Corps aviator was killed erstwhile his combat pitchy crashed adjacent a San Diego basal during a grooming flight.

Corporal Christian Cortez, a Marine with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, said the hunt for the combatant pitchy successful South Carolina was ongoing connected Monday. Exactly what happened was nether investigation, helium said.

Based connected the missing plane’s determination and trajectory, the hunt was focused connected Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sergeant Heather Stanton astatine Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are northbound of North Charleston.

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division chopper joined the hunt aft atrocious upwind cleared successful the area, Stanton said. Military officials appealed successful online posts for immoderate assistance from the nationalist successful locating the aircraft.

The aviator of a 2nd F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston, Salinas said.

The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing based successful Beaufort, adjacent the South Carolina coast.