US Air Force asks if anyone has seen missing F-35 fighter jet after pilot ejects

[tn1911]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-new...ghter-30964857

Military officials have asked the public to help in the search for a missing fighter jet after its pilot was forced to eject.

US Air Force investigators are attempting to locate the F-35 jet, which was flying over South Carolina at the time the Marine pilot made his swift exit.

“ If you have any information on the whereabouts of the F-35, please call our Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600," Joint Base Charleston said on X, formerly known as Twitter

Any Charleston members check y’all’s backyards!

[ABNAK]

Okay, I'm not an aviation expert or anything but given where he punched out at, and the direction he was headed, they can't estimate where it went down? WTF?

[mack7.62]

Do we have another Cornfield Bomber here that kept flying?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornfield_Bomber

The Cornfield Bomber

The Cornfield Bomber, pictured here shortly after earning its nickname.
Main article: Cornfield Bomber
On 2 February 1970, an F-106 of the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, piloted by Captain Gary Foust, entered a flat spin over Montana. Foust followed procedures and ejected from the aircraft. The resulting change of balance caused the aircraft to stabilize and later land "wheels up" in a snow-covered field, suffering only minor damage. The aircraft, promptly nicknamed "The Cornfield Bomber", was then sent back to base by rail, repaired and returned to service, and is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.[63]

[SomeOtherGuy]

Put it on a milk carton.

Be sure the writing is in both Cantonese and Bidenese.

[Hank6046]

Okay, I'm not an aviation expert or anything but given where he punched out at, and the direction he was headed, they can't estimate where it went down? WTF?

So being in an MOS where we reviewed a lot of incident reports straight COMNAVAIRFOR (Navy Aviation command) it depends a lot of the failure and on the conditions of the flight at the time (Speed, direction, pitch, yaw, as well as weather conditions). A Marine pilot who knew that the plane was unsafe directly after take off tried to aim the jet to the ocean, and thought he allowed enough time for him to eject on land but the plane to glide into the ocean ejected just for the plane to then nose dive into a house in La Jolla California (08) killing a grandparents and a 1 year old they were watching. There was another Harrier crash in 2010 where the pilot ejected and the plane flew for about 12 more miles before finally crashing in some swamp land in Florida. Having been on the USS Boxer (13th MEU) and watch a Harrier go into the water (March 29, 2011) you would think that the Harrier wouldn't have been able to maintain a glide for that long where a F18 would, but certain times it's just what was going on when the pilot ejected.

[Manofmayhem]

So being in an MOS where we reviewed a lot of incident reports straight COMNAVAIRFOR (Navy Aviation command) it depends a lot of the failure and on the conditions of the flight at the time (Speed, direction, pitch, yaw, as well as weather conditions). A Marine pilot who knew that the plane was unsafe directly after take off tried to aim the jet to the ocean, and thought he allowed enough time for him to eject on land but the plane to glide into the ocean ejected just for the plane to then nose dive into a house in La Jolla California (08) killing a grandparents and a 1 year old they were watching. There was another Harrier crash in 2010 where the pilot ejected and the plane flew for about 12 more miles before finally crashing in some swamp land in Florida. Having been on the USS Boxer (13th MEU) and watch a Harrier go into the water (March 29, 2011) you would think that the Harrier wouldn't have been able to maintain a glide for that long where a F18 would, but certain times it's just what was going on when the pilot ejected.

That's not what happened regarding the F18. He was on final approach to land with a single engine when his remaining engine flamed out. He reportedly tried to aim it in a small ravine before ejecting but it landed on the house, killing 3 generations (grandparents, mom, child). I won't go into more details than that, other than to say I was flying F18s in that squadron at the time.

[Hank6046]

That's not what happened regarding the F18. He was on final approach to land with a single engine when his remaining engine flamed out. He reportedly tried to aim it in a small ravine before ejecting but it landed on the house, killing 3 generations (grandparents, mom, child). I won't go into more details than that, other than to say I was flying F18s in that squadron at the time.

That's interesting because the Maintenance personnel and officers were all relived due to this, but the Pilot went back into another slot, which you probably remember was scrutinized heavily by the San Diego press.

[Manofmayhem]

That's interesting because the Maintenance personnel and officers were all relived due to this, but the Pilot went back into another slot, which you probably remember was scrutinized heavily by the San Diego press.

I remember vividly. I was in the ready room and writing the schedule that day. All of the toxic leadership we had were relieved for very good reason. The pilot was cleared after 3 or 4 months (I can't remember how long it took), I lost touch with him after that.

[chuckman]

That's not what happened regarding the F18. He was on final approach to land with a single engine when his remaining engine flamed out. He reportedly tried to aim it in a small ravine before ejecting but it landed on the house, killing 3 generations (grandparents, mom, child). I won't go into more details than that, other than to say I was flying F18s in that squadron at the time.

I was talking about Navy and Marine aviation with a friend earlier, and we started talking about the Harrier specifically. I am from NC, born and grew up in eastern NC (father retired Marine), so around Harriers most of my life. I flew as aircrew (enroute care/CASEVAC) as a billet, responded to a Harrier crash once when I was attached for SAR work with Pedro at MCAS Cherry Point.

Anyhoo, I found this list. 33 Harrier crashes in NC; of the rest of the US crashes, about half from Cherry Point squadrons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._family_losses

I am a bit of an aviation nerd so it's all fascinating to me.

[Diamondback]

I was talking about Navy and Marine aviation with a friend earlier, and we started talking about the Harrier specifically. I am from NC, born and grew up in eastern NC (father retired Marine), so around Harriers most of my life. I flew as aircrew (enroute care/CASEVAC) as a billet, responded to a Harrier crash once when I was attached for SAR work with Pedro at MCAS Cherry Point.

Anyhoo, I found this list. 33 Harrier crashes in NC; of the rest of the US crashes, about half from Cherry Point squadrons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._family_losses

I am a bit of an aviation nerd so it's all fascinating to me.

Is Cherry Point a RAG, like VF-101 was for Tomcats? Replacement Air Groups are where rookies get trained on new birds, and IIRC tend to have higher accident rates than operational squadrons.