Pilot of Crashed F-35 Jet in South Carolina Appeals for Help in Emergency Call

New details have emerged from a four-minute phone call made by a military pilot to an emergency dispatcher, revealing his desperate plea for medical assistance after ejecting from an F-35 fighter jet, ultimately landing in a South Carolina resident’s backyard.

The resident initially informed the dispatcher, “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 then joined the call and urgently stated, “Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling. I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash-landed somewhere. I ejected.”

These revelations coincide with the release of a 96-page report by a federal accountability office, urging the Department of Defense and the military services to “reassess the future sustainment strategy” of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets. The Department plans to allocate $1.7 trillion for 2,500 of these aircraft.

Over the weekend, a $100 million military aircraft went missing and flew unmanned for 60 miles before crashing north of the Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina. On Monday, debris from the jet was discovered in Indiantown, South Carolina, approximately 80 miles north of the base. The malfunction of the aircraft compelled the pilot to eject, landing in a residential backyard approximately one mile north of the Charleston International Airport on Sunday.

The circumstances surrounding the uncontrolled flight of the “most expensive” aircraft have not been fully disclosed by the U.S. Marine Corps, prompting questions about the incident. The Marine Corps did mention that the aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 1,000 feet and possesses flight control software that could account for its continued flight without a pilot, as reported by the Associated Press.

According to the Marine Corps, this software is designed to save pilots in cases of incapacitation or loss of situational awareness. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

The F-35 aircraft involved in the South Carolina crash is one of approximately 450 owned by the Department of Defense, as noted in the report. The Government Accountability Office’s report has raised concerns, particularly regarding the maintenance costs associated with this aircraft model. Out of the planned $1.7 trillion investment in F-35 planes by the Department of Defense, $1.3 trillion is earmarked for “operating and sustaining the aircraft.”

The report indicates that the F-35 fleet’s mission capability rate, or the percentage of time the aircraft can fulfill its assigned tasks, was only about 55 percent in March 2023. This suboptimal performance is attributed in part to challenges in depot and organizational maintenance. Moreover, the report highlights issues related to organizational-level maintenance, including a lack of technical data and training.

The Government Accountability Office recommends that the Department of Defense undertake a reassessment of F-35 sustainment elements to determine government and contractor responsibilities and address necessary technical data. Additionally, they advise making final decisions regarding changes to F-35 sustainment to improve performance and affordability.

Jeff Jurgenson, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, has confirmed that the department has reviewed and concurred with all of the recommendations presented in the report.