Pilot error blamed for crash of military jet missing for more than a day in South Carolina

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Marine investigation blamed the pilot of an advanced fighter jet for ejecting from the aircraft when he didn’t need to, causing the F-35 to fly unmanned for 11 minutes before it crashed in rural South Carolina last year. Military officials could not find the jet or its wreckage for more than 24 hours. The investigative report released Thursday blamed that on the $100 million aircraft’s stealth technology as well as a transponder that didn’t work and the plane flying at low altitude. The jet suffered several system failures as the pilot tried to land at Joint Base Charleston in heavy rain in September 2023 after a 50-minute training flight with another F-35.