An Update on the Marine Corps' Missing F-35

The U.S. Marine Corps has issued new statements on Monday regarding the F-35 jet that has still yet to be found after a pilot ejected in the vicinity of South Carolina. The pilot is safe and accounted for.

There is also no evidence the F-35, based out of Joint Base Charleston, crashed right away after the pilot ejected, attributing it to the pilot turning on a guidance system before ejecting. The Marine Corps said Monday morning the "mishap will be under investigation."

From the Marine Corps today on the missing F-35: "We are currently still gathering more information and assessing the situation. The mishap will be under investigation." 🫥

— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) September 18, 2023

A short time later, the Marine Corps put out another statement explaining the search efforts are still underway, "The search-and-recovery efforts for the aircraft are ongoing, and we are thankful to the agencies assisting in this effort. The mishap is currently under investigation. ... We are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigatory process."

UPDATED STATEMENT on the missing F-35 from the Marine Corps: "The search-and-recovery efforts for the aircraft are ongoing, and we are thankful to the agencies assisting in this effort. The mishap is currently under investigation. ... We are unable to provide additional details…

— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) September 18, 2023

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told WCSC she has been getting a lot of calls from local leaders in the search area who are "frustrated with the lack of transparency and the lack of information."

"And we’re talking about an $80 million jet. How does it just disappear? And how does the Pentagon ask for the public’s help in finding it?" she added. "It’s just a huge embarrassment."