Marine corps pilot: Ma'am, I'm not sure where the airplane is
After an F-35 pilot ejected over a residential street strange stories of the aftermath began emerging.
Last week a US Marine Corps pilot ejected from an F-35B Lightening II Jet leading it to crash near the South Carolina town of Indiantown.
Authorities are still investigating the circumstances that led to the crash, with initial reports suggesting that the autopilot had been left on although this was quickly rolled back as the investigation began.
After ejection, the jet continued for another 100 km. (60miles), apparently undetected by authorities, before crashing into a rural area near Indiantown.
The Joint Base Charleston from which the aircraft took off, took to Twitter to ask for help finding the jet as they had been unable to locate it. The jet was finally found after more than 24 hours.
The Pentagon announced that they would be pausing all operations for two days in order to allow units “to discuss aviation safety matters and best practices”. This was the third "Class-A mishap" in six weeks according to the Marine Corps with crashes in Australia and San Diego.
Retired Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former NATO supreme allied commander and F-16 pilot, told NBC News, that the military maintains a "very structured approach to an accident investigation," noting that a stand-down is not unusual after such an incident.
Unusual incident
Details of the crash emerged as it was seen by several members of the public, with several unusual stories occurring as a result.
After ejecting and falling roughly 2,000 feet, the pilot landed in the back garden of a South Carolina resident, who can be heard saying in a 911 call: “We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please.”
The pilot himself told the 911 dispatcher “Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get the rescue rolling. I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash-landed somewhere. I ejected.”
The jet had also been spotted flying "inverted" near to a seven-year-old's birthday party, with one attendee saying "Our kids always give a little salute, so we said, 'Look at the plane. Oh my gosh, it's so low.'"
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