The stealth capabilities of a U.S. fighter jet seem to have worked so effectively that authorities faced considerable difficulty in locating a debris field following the disappearance of an F-35 due to a pilot ejection resulting from a “mishap.”

Officials disclosed that the debris field was ultimately discovered on Monday evening, situated approximately two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, an air base located in North Charleston. However, specific details regarding the incident were not provided.

Joint Base Charleston had been collaborating with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in the effort to “locate an F-35 involved in a mishap” that occurred on Sunday afternoon, NBC News reported.

Fortunately, the pilot managed to execute a safe ejection from the aircraft, identified as an F-35B Lightning II jet.

The pilot was subsequently transported to a local medical center and reported to be in stable condition, as conveyed in a Facebook post around 5:35 p.m. ET.

The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, responsible for one of the unit’s training squadrons to which the jet belonged, confirmed the “mishap” on Sunday and the successful pilot ejection.

Captain Joe Leitner, spokesperson for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, stated, “The mishap is currently under investigation.”

Notably, the aircraft was in autopilot mode at the time of the pilot’s ejection, as indicated by Jeremy Huggins, a spokesperson at Joint Base Charleston.

Authorities had concerns that the aircraft could have potentially remained airborne for some time.

Requests for comment from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were unanswered at the time of reporting, and the specific circumstances leading to the pilot’s ejection from the aircraft remained unclear.

Written by staff