US authorities found a field with remains of the F-35 fighter jet that crashed on Sunday in South Carolina and has been missing since then, the US Navy said on Monday.
The debris field was located in rural Williamsburg County, according to Joint Marine Corps Base Charleston.
What remains of the F-35 was about two hours northeast of the base and residents in that area were urged to avoid the area while recovery operations are underway, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The reasons for the incident with the F-35 fighter are still “under investigation,” the US Armed Forces stressed in the statement, without providing further details to “preserve the integrity” of the investigations.
Since Sunday, US authorities have been searching for the F-35 stealth fighter, something that was left partly uncertain after the pilot ejected and arrived safely on the ground by parachute.
The pilot was transported to a hospital and was in stable condition, according to Navy Maj. Melanie Salinas.
The Marine Corps announced Monday that it would halt operations for two days while authorities searched near two lakes in South Carolina.
The authorities also asked citizens for help in finding the F-35, an unusual request that immediately generated several reactions and raised questions about how it was possible to lose a fighter that costs at least 74.8 million euros.
“We knew the F-35 was stealthy, but this is ridiculous,” said Nancy Mace, a Republican representative from South Carolina, on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
One of the spokespersons for the Charleston base, Jeremy Huggins, explained to the Washington Post that the fighter had a receiver-transmitter device that allowed it to be located, but that it did not work “for some reason” that had not yet been identified. .certain.
In X, funny comments multiplied about the disappearance of this team that belongs to the prestigious United States Marine Corps.
Social media users shared doctored ‘wanted’ posters: “F-35 missing. $500 reward.”
As the United States has already provided billions of dollars in military aid to Kiev, many shared a photo (also manipulated) of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, all smiles, posing in front of a fighter jet.
One of the Internet users asked: “Have you searched in Ukraine?”
One theory was that the fighter was still flying on autopilot toward an uncertain destination. In 1989, a Soviet MIG-23 from Poland crashed near Kortrijk, Belgium, after traveling more than 900 kilometers without a pilot, who had also been ejected.
Source: TSF
