WASHINGTON (AP) — The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles (100 kilometers) before crashing.
Here’s what is known about the modern warplane and its latest incident:
‘FORCED TO EJECT’
A U.S. Marine Corps pilot was flying a single-seat F-35B fighter jet on Sunday when the pilot experienced a malfunction and was “forced to eject,” a Marine Corps official who was not authorized to speak publicly said on condition of anonymity. The aircraft was only at an altitude of about 1,000 feet (300 meters) and only about a mile (less than 2 kilometers) north of Charleston International Airport, in a populated area that led the pilot to parachute into a residential backyard.
The Marine Corps’ variant of the F-35 is different from the Air Force and Navy versions in that it can take off and land like a helicopter — which allows it to operate on amphibious assault ships. But it’s also different in that it’s the only one of the three variants that has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat, according to seat manufacturer Martin-Baker. That has raised questions as to whether the malfunction the pilot experienced was the seat itself.
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On the Air Force and Navy versions, “the pilot has to initiate the ejection,” said Dan Grazier, a former Marine Corps captain and the senior defense policy fellow at the Project on Government Oversight, but the Marine version’s auto-eject is intended to better protect the pilot in case something goes wrong with the aircraft when it’s in hover mode. “Was that function triggered for some reason, and punched the pilot out?” Grazier said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”
Last December, an F-35B that had not yet been delivered to the Marine Corps crashed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas. The jet had been in hover mode over the airfield and began to drop, hit the runway and bounced before the pilot was ejected into the air.
In July 2022, the Air Force temporarily grounded its F-35s over ejection seat concerns. While the Air Force F-35A does not have an auto-eject function, some of the cartridges that initiate the ejection in the warplane were found to have issues, leading to the grounding.
At the time, all F-35 ejection seats, including the Navy and Marine Corps variants, were inspected, and the continue to be looked at during standard maintenance on the aircraft, the F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement to The Associated Press.
THE AIRCRAFT KEPT FLYING
Other major questions include how the aircraft continued flying for 60 miles before crashing in a field near Indiantown, South Carolina, and why the pilot bailed out — if the bailout was intentional — of a plane that was able to keep operating for that long, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps Reserves colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Security.
“If it flew that far, could (the pilot) have landed it someplace — why punch out where he did?” Cancian asked.
The search for the aircraft lasted more than a day before the debris was ultimately located Monday by a South Carolina law enforcement helicopter.
A Marine Corps official said he could not provide any additional details on why it took so long to find the jet, citing the ongoing investigation. Jeremy Huggins, a spokesperson at Joint Base Charleston, told NBC News that the jet was flying in autopilot mode when the pilot ejected from the aircraft. Once it was located, a Marine Corps team was dispatched to secure the wreckage and a second team, one that conducts aircraft mishap investigations, was sent to the site.
FIGHTER JET OF THE FUTURE
The Lockheed Martin-produced F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter is the most advanced fighter jet in the U.S. arsenal, with more than 972 warplanes already built and plans to produce more than 3,500 globally. The Defense Department is counting on it serving for decades as the primary fighter both for the U.S. and a host of allied partners, much like the role the F-16 Flying Falcon was designed to fill decades ago.
The jet “represents so much of the future” of the country’s airpower, Cancian said.
It was almost 22 years ago that Lockheed won the contract to build the F-35. It created three variants — the Air Force’s F-35A, which is the most produced version and the one most often sold to allies; the Marine Corps F-35B, which has the ability to take off and land vertically, and hover like a helicopter; and the Navy’s F-35C, which can land on a carrier.
Lockheed Martin has delivered 190 F-35B variants to the Marine Corps, at a cost of about $100 million each.
The program, however, has faced significant cost overruns and production delays, and its final price tag now tops an estimated $1.7 trillion. While many of the aircraft have been built, the program is already looking at replacing the F-35 engine.
FAQs
The jet crashed on Sunday after what the Marine Corps said was a malfunction that prompted the pilot to eject near the Charleston airport. But the $100 million fighter jet wasn't found until more than 24 hours later approximately 60 miles north of Joint Base Charleston, missing some heavily populated areas.
What went wrong with F-35? ›
The main drivers of critical failures were “troubleshooting (including software stability), attaching hardware (including nutplates), wires/tubes/ducts/ fiber optics, throttle grip, aircraft memory device, [low observability] repair, standby flight display, refueling door, position light,” the report noted.
What happened with the F-35 crash? ›
In that accident, the aircraft descended vertically at an excessive rate of speed, bounced, touched the runway with the nosewheel, spun around, came down sideways and collapsed one of the main landing gear. The pilot then ejected at zero altitude but survived with minor injuries. The aircraft remained largely intact.
What happened to the F-35 that went missing? ›
A field of debris from the F-35 was found the day after the jet went missing in a rural area near the border of Williamsburg and Florence counties which is more than 75 miles from the neighborhood where the pilot landed. It is not yet known what caused the incident, which led to a roughly $100 million loss.
Why did the guy eject from the F-35? ›
The pilot later again asked the dispatcher to "please send an ambulance" and said that he "rode a parachute down to the ground". According to the Marine Corps, the pilot ejected as a result of a malfunction and landed in a residential area near Charleston's international airport.
How far did the F-35 fly after the pilot ejected? ›
The Marines have what's left of their lost F-35 back and happily no one was hurt. But many questions surround the mishap including how the pilot-less stealth fighter flew 50 to 60 miles at low altitude.
What is the top speed of the F-35? ›
All the F-35 variants have a top speed of Mach 1.6, roughly equal to 1,200 mph and due to the weaponry being stored internally they can attain their top speed even with a full load of weapons.
Is the F35 a lemon? ›
Sprey is a former aircraft designer and defense analyst, he uses – among other things – the small-wing argument to explain that “the F-35 is a lemon”. Another thing that is important is the drag.
How much does an F-35 jet cost? ›
How Much Does It Cost? The F-35's price per unit, including ancillary costs like depot maintenance, ground support equipment, and spare parts is $110.3 million per F-35A, $135.8 million per F-35B, and $117.3 million per F-35C.
What's the difference between F-22 and F-35? ›
While the F-35 is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth multirole fighter jet capable of performing ground attacks and air defense missions, the F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, fifth-generation, tactical fighter aircraft specializing in air dominance. The Joint Striker Program was initiated in the mid-1990s.
Despite being the most advanced fighter jet available, the F-35 has been involved in 29 crashes since it began flying 17 years ago. With over 721,000 flight hours and more than 965 delivered F-35s, the aircraft has a relatively low crash rate, with fewer than ten confirmed destroyed planes and one pilot fatality.
Is the F-35 a strike aircraft? ›
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, stealth multirole combat aircraft designed for air superiority and strike missions; it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
Can a F-35 fly without a pilot? ›
"Historically, an aircraft without a pilot can fly a long way on autopilot," added Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Center for Security Studies. "Without air-to-air refueling, the F-35 has a range of over 1,000 miles," retired Air Commodore Andrew Curtis, of Britain's Royal Air Force, told Newsweek.
Do pilots get hurt when they eject? ›
The turbulent process of ejecting puts pilots at serious risk of injury. Once those rockets fire under the seat, they blow a person up and out of the co*ckpit with enough force to seriously bruise both shoulders on the harness straps and possibly break collarbones.
Who has F-35 now? ›
The F-35B is operated by the United States Marine Corps, the United Kingdom and the Italian Air Force. The F-35B lands vertically like a helicopter and can take-off in very short distances, allowing it to operate from austere, short-field bases and a range of air-capable ships.
Did the Marines lose an F-35? ›
The US Marine Corps found themselves in an unusual emergency in September: They had lost an F-35 fighter jet somewhere over South Carolina. And what does one do in an emergency? Call 911. That's exactly why they did, according to newly released audio recordings.
What happens to Marines who fail the map? ›
If a Marine does not show progress while on the program, reenlistment and promotion opportunities can be denied. To maintain fairness and impartiality, Marines assigned to the MAP have the right to appeal their status to the next higher officer in the CoC.
How long did the F-35 fly before it crashed? ›
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing.
What happened in the Osprey crash? ›
All five Marines aboard the Osprey were killed after a clutch problem caused a failure in the right engine during a training flight, sending the aircraft out of control over Glamis, California, according to a military report on its investigation of the disaster.
