A missing military aircraft’s debris field has been located in South Carolina.
A debris field has been discovered in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, which is believed to be connected to the missing F-35B military aircraft that vanished on Sunday following the pilot’s ejection, according to a statement by the Marine Corps on Monday evening.
This debris field was located approximately two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston.
The Marine Corps has advised members of the community to steer clear of the area as the recovery team secures the debris field. according to a news release. The recovery process will be led by the U.S. Marine Corps after Joint Base Charleston hands over incident command on Monday evening.
On Sunday, a pilot safely ejected after a “mishap” involving the aircraft and was taken to a local medical facility in stable condition, according to Joint Base Charleston’s Facebook post.
The incident prompted a coordinated response from military units, federal agencies, and local authorities, all working together to reconstruct the events leading up to the mishap and its aftermath.
“The mishap is currently under investigation, and we are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigative process,” the Marine Corps said in a statement on Monday.
Given the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search for the F-35 Lightning II jet was focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, according to Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are situated north of North Charleston.
The aircraft belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, a unit primarily dedicated to training pilots to meet their annual training requirements, according to the unit’s official website.
Officials are still investigating why the pilot ejected, authorities said.
Numerous entities, including Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Navy Region Southeast, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Civil Air Patrol, and various local, county, and state law enforcement agencies across South Carolina have been working collaboratively to locate the aircraft and secure the debris field.
