US finds debris from missing F-35 military jet that crashed after pilot ejected

Authorities found a debris field from a Marine Corps F-35 fighter jet that crashed in South Carolina after the pilot ejected safely. The debris field was located in rural Williamsburg County, Marine Corps’ Joint Base Charleston said. The field is about two hours northeast of the base. Based on the missing plane's location and trajectory, the search was focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion while a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter joined the search after some bad weather cleared in the area. US military officials also appealed in online posts for any help from the public in locating the aircraft.

Authorities had been searching for the jet since the pilot parachuted to safety into North Charleston neighborhood. He was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, Marines Maj. Melanie Salinas said. The Marine Corps paused its operations for two days after the fighter jet's crash, General Eric Smith, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps, said. During the stand-down safe flying policies, practices and procedures will be reinforced, he said. 

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This marks the third event documented as a “Class-A mishap" over the past six weeks, according to a Marine Corps announcement- incidents when damages reach $2.5 million or more, a Department of Defense aircraft is destroyed, or someone dies or is permanently disabled.

In August, three US Marines were killed in the crash of a V-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft during a training exercise in Australia and a Marine Corps pilot was killed when his combat jet crashed near a San Diego base during a training flight.

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