The United States military is being criticized online after a military facility in South Carolina asked the public for assistance in locating a missing F-35 fighter plane.
According to military authorities located in Charleston, South Carolina, an F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter plane was “involved in a mishap” on Sunday.
Joint Base Charleston authorities stated that the pilot of the aircraft “ejected safely and was transferred to a local medical center in stable condition.” They added that they were collaborating with the Marine Corps air base in Beaufort, South Carolina, to locate the aircraft. Emergency response teams are still looking for the F-35, according to authorities.
“The public is asked to cooperate with military and civilian authorities as the effort continues,” Joint Base Charleston officials said. “If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center,” the post added.
The pilot of a second F-35 fighter is claimed to have safely returned to Joint Base Charleston, and an inquiry is purportedly underway.
“How in the hell do you lose an F-35?” Nancy Mace, Republican Representative for one of South Carolina’s congressional districts, wrote on X. “How is there not a tracking device and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?”
Social media users published photographs of flyers indicating that an F-35 was missing as well as pictures of the plane with monitoring gadgets like Apple’s AirTag put on them. Other widely circulated images further display an eBay advertisement for the missing plane.
Now that I got that out of the way. How in the hell do you lose an F-35?
How is there not a tracking device and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) September 18, 2023
