US F-35 Fighter Jet Goes Missing Following Mid-Flight Emergency

On Sunday, a US Marine Corps fighter jet disappeared in South Carolina after its pilot safely ejected from the aircraft. US military officials have reached out to the public for assistance in locating the missing multimillion-dollar plane, according to a report by The Guardian.

The incident occurred when a Marine Corps pilot safely ejected from the F-35 Lightning II jet over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon following a mishap. Base authorities have been conducting a search in collaboration with federal aviation regulators in the vicinity of two lakes north of Charleston.

Joint Base Charleston, the primary organization involved, has issued a request for assistance from local residents. Their post on social media, specifically X (formerly known as Twitter), read: “If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center.”

Reacting to this news, local congresswoman Nancy Mace expressed her astonishment on X: “Now that I got that out of the way. How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device, and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?”

These fighter jets, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, are valued at approximately $80 million each, as reported by AFP.