Marines blame pilot error for 2023 crash of F-35 jet missing for more than 24 hours in South Carolina

Marine Corps investigators have blamed the pilot for the high-profile crash of an F-35B stealth fighter last year near Charleston, South Carolina, in which the plane continued to fly more than 60 miles after the pilot ejected.

The pilot was required to remain on the plane after experiencing an electrical problem while approaching a landing site at Joint Base Charleston on Sept. 17, 2023, according to the investigation, which was dated Jan. 18, 2024, but was released by the Marine Corps on Thursday. The F-35’s “advanced automatic flight control systems” allowed the plane to continue flying about 64 miles northeast onto private property near Hemingway, South Carolina, where it remained undetected for more than 24 hours after the crash, the investigation concluded.

“The pilot misdiagnosed an uncontrolled in-flight emergency and ejected from the aircraft while in flight, albeit during a heavy rainstorm, exacerbated by faults in the aircraft’s electrical and display systems,” investigators wrote in the 111-page report.

Despite the conclusion that the pilot ejected improperly, investigators recommended that the Marine not be punished in the case. According to official documents, the pilot in command agreed.

The pilot’s name and rank were redacted in the investigative report. Investigators determined that the pilot was “qualified and prepared” to fly a modern aircraft and was of “sound mind and body” before the crash. Investigators described the pilot as a “very experienced” aviator with more than 2,800 hours of flight time in the Marine Corps, mostly in the AV-8B Harrier. But the pilot had limited experience in the F-35B, having flown the plane for about 32 hours before the crash. The pilot was assigned to the 501st Fighter Squadron, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The incident occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time at Joint Base Charleston shortly after the pilot began the vertical landing procedure, a feature that allows the Marine Corps version of the F-35B to land in a helicopter-like manner. After lowering the landing gear and entering vertical landing mode, the pilot reported that his helmet-mounted display, which displays flight information and the date directly on the F-35 pilot’s helmet visor, turned on and off at least twice.

The pilot reported that “multiple cautions and warnings” were displayed on the helmet display before attempting to land. After a second instrument blackout, the pilot “determined that landing on the runway was not possible” and returned the F-35 to normal flight mode, he told investigators. The display went dark again, leading the pilot to believe that the aircraft was uncontrollable and that an ejection was necessary.

After the pilot ejected from the aircraft – ultimately landing without serious injury in a residential backyard about a mile from the base – the F-35 continued to fly for 11 minutes and 21 seconds before crashing into dense forest approximately 64 nautical miles away. miles from base. where the pilot ejected. Joint Base Charleston’s tower was initially able to track the plane, but lost radar contact after it flew about 23 nautical miles, the investigation found.

Following the plane’s disappearance, Marine officials launched a massive manhunt for the aircraft that included military assets and civilian law enforcement. The plane was found approximately 27 hours after the pilot ejected.

Investigators found that the F-35’s low flight path and stealth features likely contributed to Joint Base Charleston’s turret losing contact with the aircraft. They found multiple factors, including loss of radar contact, “virtually no fire” resulting from the crash, and the location of the crash site deep in dense forest, making it difficult to find the plane.

Even from the sky, “the crash site was barely visible,” investigators wrote.

“The only part of the aircraft visible from the air was most of the engine,” the report said.

Investigators credited search teams with finding the F-35 and clearing the wreckage in an environmentally friendly manner. The cleaning process took about a month.

No one was injured on the ground in the crash, but the Marines said it resulted in the loss of “woodland and crops” that were privately owned.

It also ended with the loss of an F-35B worth about $100 million, investigators wrote.