At last he appeared. The United States Armed Forces found this Monday the remains of the Navy F-35 that suffered an accident on Sunday near the military base in Charleston, in the state of South Carolina. The fighter pilot was unharmed.
The plane was not far away. According to authorities, the wreckage of the F-35B Lightning II was in Williamsburg County, about “two hours northeast” of the base that serves air and naval forces. They have not said more, because the reasons for the “incident” are still “under investigation”says the statement issued by the US army.
Disappeared 24 hours after an “mishap”
The events took place on Sunday afternoon. The plane – belonging to one of the training squadrons of the 2nd Marine Air Wing – was disappeared after suffering an “mishap” when he was making a flight in the state of South Carolina.
The pilot, who has not been identified, managed to eject and descended by parachute. According to a statement from Joint Base Charleston, the military He is hospitalized and in stable condition. “The accident is currently under investigation,” said Capt. Joe Leitner, spokesman for the 2nd Marine Air Wing.
“The accident is currently under investigation.”
But the fighter did not crash immediately. The device continued to fly autonomously, what is informally known as the “zombie state.” It is unknown how many minutes he did this, but he eventually fell to the ground, now we know “two hours northeast” of the base.
One of the most advanced and expensive fighters in the world
Known for its sharp, aerodynamic body, the F-35 is located among the most advanced fighters in the world. Its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, said in a statement: “We are aware of the mishap involving a Marine Corps F-35B from Beaufort and are grateful that the pilot ejected safely. We are supporting the government’s investigation. “.
The plane’s transponder was not working “for some reason we have not yet determined”
The truth is that the military authorities have not known of his whereabouts for nearly 24 hours. The reason is that the transponder of the plane, which normally helps locate it, did not work “for some reason we haven’t determined yet,” said Jeremy Huggins, spokesman for Joint Base Charleston.
For this reason, those responsible for the base published a message on social networks asking for the help of citizens to locate it. “Emergency response teams are still attempting to locate the F-35… The public is asked to cooperate with military and civilian authorities as the effort continues,” they said.
How much did the accident cost?
“The plane is stealthy, so it has different coatings and designs that make it harder to detect than a normal plane,” Huggins explained. The spokesperson did not want to specify the nature of the exercise in which the pilot was participating at the time of the incident.
The extent of the damage suffered by the fighter is unclear, but the F-35 is one of the most expensive airplanes of the world. The Washington Post Account that when an F-35 first crashed in 2018, the mishap was initially classified as “Class A.” That grade refers to a cost of $2 million or more in damage, complete destruction of the aircraft, or permanent total incapacity of the crew.