The remains of a $100 million F-35 fighter jet that disappeared Sunday were found Monday near Williamsburg County, South Carolina, officials at Joint Base Charleston reported.
The US Army has been conducting an intensive search since Sunday after the fighter jet was lost following a “setback” in which the pilot survived.
The incident involved a mishap and involved a second training aircraft
Military officials said a pilot was flying near Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday afternoon when he had to eject from the plane for unknown reasons and lost sight of the expensive F-35 jet.
According to authorities Monday evening, the plane’s wreckage was located about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston.
The statement warned that community members should “avoid the area while the recovery team secures the debris field.”
“The mishap is currently under investigation and we are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigation process. “We would like to thank all of our mission partners, as well as local, regional and state authorities, for their commitment and support during the search and transition to the recovery phase,” the statement continued.
Officials at Joint Base Charleston said they would transfer operational command to the U.S. Marine Corps as they begin the recovery process.
Joint Base Charleston said the incident involved both a mishap and an F-35B Lightning II aircraft from the U.S. Marine Corps’ 2nd Aircraft Wing’s Combat Attack Training Squadron 501. However, the origin or nature of the setback was not explained.
