The pilot who ejected from a $100 million F-35 fighter jet claimed he lost the plane due to bad weather and likely bailed out before it could activate its tracking system, sources and experts said.
“He’s not sure where his plane crashed, he said he just missed it in the weather,” a voice from the pilot can be heard saying in a call to Charleston County Emergency Medical Services posted Tuesday by a meteorologist.
The unidentified pilot landed in a residential neighborhood in North Charleston and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
He has since been discharged.
Military officials have not yet revealed a specific reason for the pilot’s hasty departure, only referring to the incident as the result of a “malfunction.”
The pilot said he missed the plane due to bad weather before ejecting it to safety. AFP via Getty Images
Richard Aboulafia, a longtime military aviation expert and consultant, told The Post that the pilot was likely operating the stealth fighter without any tracking capabilities activated, and ejected before he could do so.
“If you turned on the device on board, it would be easily traceable,” he said. “But this is a stealth plane. If you don’t turn on that particular device, it will be difficult to establish contact. Most likely he didn’t have much time to react.”
Military officials were forced to ask for the public’s help in locating the plane, through a Facebook post.
The plane crashed on Sunday in a rural field in South Carolina.AFP via Getty Images
“It’s unusual,” Aboulafia said of that effort. “But what’s the harm? The onboard device has not been turned on and is not being tracked. So it makes a lot of sense that they would ask for help from people in the area who might have seen a plane heading in their direction.”
The plane eventually crashed in a wooded area in South Carolina about 60 miles from where the pilot parachuted to the ground.
Authorities have cordoned off an area near the area where the plane landedAP
State law enforcement officials said they officially identified the plane on Monday and have since closed a mile-long stretch of road in Williamsburg County.
Local residents in the rural area said they heard a deafening screech before a massive boom shook their homes.
The plane is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s most expensive weapons systems program, according to a May 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The agency is considering modernizing the plane’s engine.
Authorities have not yet provided a specific “malfunction” that led to the pilot’s ejection.AP
Aboulafia said that although the high-tech model may have its problems, it is still considered the best fighter jet in the world and is coveted by a long list of governments.
“I understand the frustration about delays, cost overruns and anything else,” he said. “But the fact is that they can’t produce them fast enough to meet demand. And that is the end result.”
With pole cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn