Debris field found in search for missing F-35 in South Carolina, officials say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

September 18, 2023, 6:16 PM


A debris field has been found in South Carolina during the search for a F-35 fighter jet that had gone missing after a "mishap" on Sunday, military officials confirmed in a statement on Monday night.

Officials said the debris was found in Williamsburg County some two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, which is now handing off command to the Marine Corps. The pilot of the craft had "safely ejected" during the incident, authorities previously said.

A Marine Corps spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday "we are currently still gathering more information and assessing the situation. The mishap will be under investigation." "We are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigative process," officials said in the statement on Monday.

"We would like to thank all of our mission partners, as well as local, county, and state authorities, for their dedication and support throughout the search and as we transition to the recovery phase," the officials said.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/debris-field-found-search-missing-35-south-carolina/story?id=103291654

[underpants]

1. Not far from Myrtle Beach.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I remember what was formerly Hurricane Idalia

had rolled through that area last month including Myrtle Beach.

[woodsprite]

3. The mishap may need to be investigated, but perhaps tracking and recovery procedures would too! nt

[Igel]

9. I wonder what the craft's altitude was.

What the problem was.

Part of me wants to say, "Pilot had no choice--abandon the plane when it was clear that it was going to crash." But you'd expect the crash to be close to the ejection site.

Part of me also wants to say, "Plane kept going farther than expected. Did the pilot really have to eject or just panicked?" Now, "have to eject" meant might there was a real problem or the avionics gave spurious readings.

Why the difference?

These birds aren't (a) plentiful or (b) cheap.

I'm sure I'm not the only one not just grateful that the pilot's life was saved but at the same time curious as to what, exactly happened *and* why the plane wasn't better tracked.

Then again, barring a much celebrated leak of utterly classified information that we all approve of (because we're curious, and our opinion matters), I'll never know. (In other words, between vain curiosity and actual concern, I'm entirely in favor of not having a clue about what happened.)

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. Apparently they want pilots out as soon as possible in non recoverable scenarios.

I happened to recently watch these videos discussing the recent air show MiG ejection. Iirc, 10,000 feet is a “floor.” In other words, they don’t want the pilot working the problem all the way down and punch out too late. Low level ejections are no bueno.

?si=fs8rCA4j1ISGTu3R

?si=qejEsg2bGfIIo7B-

[jaxexpat]

12. The Pentagon is still trying to coordinate its excuses for 1/6 inaction.

They'll get right on it as soon as they can determine who's side they're on.

[marked50]

4. I heard that one reason it "disappeared" is because it was in it's "Stealh" mode.

Hence tracking would have been hard to do. Reasonable?

[herding cats]

5. I read that as well.

Who knows what's going to be the end story, but that was brandied about at one point.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I would think there would be a contingency for that

where it triggers some sort of beacon on a special frequency if the pilot ejects. This is assuming it's not already programmed to self-destruct after an ejection.

[zuul]

8. Also, it's invisible.

I know it’s invisible because an orange, rapey, mobbed-up, gelatinous blob, who used to squat at the White House, said so.

[Captain Zero]

16. And any civil airport tracking would have been giving him wrong info

In the early 2000s there was a fighter with some stealth tech and it got in trouble around Indianapolis. The Indianapolis tower gave him info that he followed and it took him into a hotel east of the airport. Other than a few mentions it got quiet then slipped into the news cycle, but people in the hotel died because it showed up in their lobby

[marble falls]

7. Someone will be flying a desk.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

10. It's not a crime scene. How would releasing any information compromise the investigation???

Hourly updates on the giant white spy balloon but total silence on an expensive taxpayer asset?

Pentagon obstruction of information.

[yardwork]

13. And the media follow along like lemmings.

Wouldn't want to do any, like, real investigative reporting or ask awkward questions. That might make someone mad.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

14. Only on DU are the hard questions asked, American journalism has forgotten how?

[Happy Hoosier]

15. What do you actually want to know?

They'll want to keep lookie-loos away from the area until they have recovered any sensitive equipment/wreckage.... not exactly complicated. It's our most advanced operational aircraft.