Authorities search for missing F-35 plane after Navy pilot ejects during flight over Charleston
- Pilot parachuted to safety during flight over South Carolina
- This is a development story
Marine Corps investigators have launched an investigation after one of their pilots was ejected from an F-35 fighter plane over South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Joint Base Charleston said the pilot was at a Naval Air Station Beaufort F-35 when the “accident” occurred.
He was found alive and taken to a nearby medical center after parachuting onto South Kenwood Drive, just a few hundred yards from the North Charleston air base.
His wingman landed safely at Joint Base Charleston in an accompanying aircraft.
Officials are working to locate the F-35.
The pilot was flying a Naval Air Station Beaufort F-35
The 20,000-acre air base is home to the 628th Air Base Wing and shares runways with Charleston International Airport for commercial aviation operations on the south side of the airfield, and general aviation aircraft on the east side.
It has four operational groups, consisting of 21 squadrons and two wing staff directorates.
It was visited by then-First and Second Ladies in 2019 when Melania Trump and Karen Pence spoke to military families during a trip to the state.
This is a development story.