After pilot error, F-35 fighter jet flew for 11 minutes on its own before crashing last year

The pilot of an F-35 fighter jet that briefly went missing in September 2023 before crashing made an “inappropriate” decision in ejecting from the aircraft, a Marine Corps investigation concluded. 

The report released Thursday blamed the crash of the roughly $100 million aircraft on pilot error because “the pilot incorrectly diagnosed an out-of-controlled flight emergency and ejected from a flyable aircraft, albeit under extremely challenging cognitive and flight conditions.” 

On September 17, 2023, the pilot ejected from the F-35 during a heavy rainstorm and after experiencing a series of electrical and display malfunctions. The F-35 continued to fly on its own for 11 minutes and 21 seconds for a distance of about 70 miles, military officials said. 

The pilot landed in a driveway, according to the investigation, and then knocked on the door of the homeowner to call 911 and report the missing F-35. The crash site was located a day later in a rural area near Hemmingway, South Carolina. 

Before it crashed, the F-35 “plowed” through a dense forest, the investigation said. The debris field was approximately 1,800 feet long by approximately 300 feet at its widest point amid dense forest, cotton, and soybean fields. 

The investigation attributed the F-35’s extended flight to the automatic flight-control systems in F-35s and said the Marine Corps briefly lost track of it on radar because it was flying low, had a broken transponder, and also in part because of the F-35s’ low-observable or stealth technology. 

Before ejecting, the pilot experienced an “electrical event” during flight that caused failures to radios, the transponder, the tactical air navigation system and the instrument landing system. But backup systems kicked in that kept the aircraft “flyable,” according to military officials, especially considering that “the aircraft continued to fly an extended period after ejection.”  

There were no injuries on the ground, but the crash caused property damage to private forested land and crops, the investigation said. 

The investigation does not recommend any punishment for the crash.