A US Marine Corps fighter jet has disappeared in South
Carolina following a mid-flight emergency, with the pilot safely ejecting from
the aircraft on Sunday. US military authorities have issued a public appeal for
assistance in locating the missing multimillion-dollar F-35 plane, as reported
by the Guardian.
According to military sources, a Marine Corps pilot ejected
safely from the F-35 Lightning II jet during a ‘mishap’ over North Charleston
on Sunday afternoon. Base authorities, in coordination with federal aviation
regulators, are conducting search efforts around two lakes north of Charleston.
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Joint Base Charleston, the leading entity in the search, has
requested assistance from local residents, urging them to report any
information to aid in the recovery of the F-35. A statement posted on the
base’s X account (formerly known as Twitter) reads, ‘If you have any
information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the
Base Defense Operations Center.’
In response to the incident, Congresswoman Nancy Mace
expressed astonishment on X, saying, ‘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?’
The F-35 aircraft, produced by Lockheed Martin, carries an
approximate price tag of $80 million each, as stated in an AFP report.
