It was one of the weirdest stories in years. The military lost a state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jet, last seen flying pilotless over North Charleston, South Carolina, and was asking the public for help in finding the $80 million plane. As Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) asked: "How in the hell do you lose an F-35?"
The military has not been particularly transparent about what happened. We know the plane was a Marine jet that took off Sunday from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, about 70 miles southwest of Charleston. We know that the pilot, who has not been publicly identified, bailed out over the Charleston suburbs and landed in a residential area, near South Kenwood Drive in North Charleston. Why did the pilot, who is now hospitalized, eject? All the Marine Corps said is a "mishap" occurred and that it is under investigation.
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