Missing F-35: US military asks for public's help to find jet

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Debris found in search for F-35 jet - authorities

Quote

Debris has been found in the search for an F-35 military jet that went missing after the pilot ejected over South Carolina, say US military officials.

The debris of the $100m (£80m) plane - which disappeared on Sunday afternoon - was discovered in rural Williamsburg County, said authorities.

Read More: BBC News

 

[+susieice]

29 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Debris found in search for F-35 jet - authorities

 

Some interesting points brought up in your link Waspie. After the ejection, would the plane be able to keep on flying because of the change in aerodynamics and the cockpit missing? Would the electronics in the cockpit be able to survive the rocket exhaust now coming in? 

It doesn't sound like the wreckage was found in water. At least I haven't seen that in any of the links I've read so far.

[F3SS]

2 minutes ago, susieice said:

Some interesting points brought up in your link Waspie. After the ejection, would the plane be able to keep on flying because of the change in aerodynamics and the cockpit missing? Would the electronics in the cockpit be able to survive the rocket exhaust now coming in? 

It doesn't sound like the wreckage was found in water. At least I haven't seen that in any of the links I've read so far.

Good questions but I don't think any exhaust is getting in the cockpit. It would be trailing behind the whole way unless it's doing the opposite of a nose dive and falling tail down nose up or doing somersaults.

[+and-then]

9 minutes ago, susieice said:

Some interesting points brought up in your link Waspie. After the ejection, would the plane be able to keep on flying because of the change in aerodynamics and the cockpit missing? Would the electronics in the cockpit be able to survive the rocket exhaust now coming in? 

It doesn't sound like the wreckage was found in water. At least I haven't seen that in any of the links I've read so far.

That makes the situation even more embarrassing.  A debris field in the vicinity of where the pilot came down should have been easy to spot.  

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

8 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

The jet, made by Lockheed Martin, is thought to cost around $80m (£65m) each, according to news agency AFP.

I am getting various costs for the F-35B Lightning II, the version for the Marines. 

The cost of an F-35B grew from $232 million in 2014 to a bulging $251 million by 2015.

 

[+and-then]

6 minutes ago, F3SS said:

Good questions but I don't think any exhaust is getting in the cockpit. It would be trailing behind the whole way unless it's doing the opposite of a nose dive and falling tail down nose up or doing somersaults.

I think she was speaking of the rocket motor under his chair.  Those emergency egress systems are very powerful.  They can loft the pilot and his chair, with rescue equipment installed, high enough for the chute to deploy even if the ejection happens at ground level.  I've read that the force causes pilots back problems, usually.

[F3SS]

1 minute ago, Earl.Of.Trumps said:

I am getting various costs for the F-35B Lightning II, the version for the Marines. 

The cost of an F-35B grew from $232 million in 2014 to a bulging $251 million by 2015.

 

The guys in charge of that information aren't always the best with their bookkeeping. 

[F3SS]

1 minute ago, and-then said:

I think she was speaking of the rocket motor under his chair.  Those emergency egress systems are very powerful.  They can loft the pilot and his chair, with rescue equipment installed, high enough for the chute to deploy even if the ejection happens at ground level.  I've read that the force causes pilots back problems, usually.

Ahh ok. Sorry Susice. Didn't consider that. 

That must be one puckering moment. Geez.

[+and-then]

1 minute ago, F3SS said:

The guys in charge of that information aren't always the best with their bookkeeping. 

Yep... just in the last few months, DOD admitted undercounting a couple of billion in Ukraine aid that they thought had already been applied.  

"In 1938 the New York Times printed: “Well, now, about this new budget. It’s a billion here and a billion there, and by and by it begins to mount up into money.”

[+susieice]

12 minutes ago, F3SS said:

Ahh ok. Sorry Susice. Didn't consider that. 

That must be one puckering moment. Geez.

NP. I really don't know what I'm talking about but I know what I've seen depicted. When a pilot ejects the cockpit cover over him goes too which would open the whole cockpit up. I can believe how strong the force is to blow off the canopy and toss the seat and all out. I can see where it would do some damage in the cockpit area. I keep thinking. Wouldn't airspeed play a role in this too? They fly really fast.

Now I'm more curious about the mishap. What made that pilot eject? Something was going wrong with the aircraft. This whole ejection thing doesn't sound like something a pilot would do without a really good reason.

Edited September 19, 2023 by susieice

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

29 minutes ago, susieice said:

Some interesting points brought up in your link Waspie. After the ejection, would the plane be able to keep on flying because of the change in aerodynamics and the cockpit missing? Would the electronics in the cockpit be able to survive the rocket exhaust now coming in? 

It doesn't sound like the wreckage was found in water. At least I haven't seen that in any of the links I've read so far.

You raise an interesting point but I *think* the autopilot can compensate for that. 

[Tatetopa]

1 hour ago, F3SS said:

Ha yea maybe it's clever marketing lol.

 

I'm really hoping it's something to that effect. Misdirection like I said 

We still don't know what the mishap was.  UAP or something more mundane?

My company was involved in an Air Force crash investigation because we made new upgraded titanium parts for an existing program.  The pilot was killed in the crash.  Part of our production was shut down until the investigation found the cause.  In that case the airplane flew into the ground with no recorded  attempt by the pilot to change course.  It was not a mechanical malfunction so we were cleared and dismissed after doing our cut ups and testing.  Some investigators suspected suicide, but no evidence.

To give you an idea of the thoroughness, they found a blood spot on the outside of the canopy and a small one inside the pilots helmet.  Bird blood on the outside, the pilots blood in his helmet. We heard unofficially that they did some testing with bird carcasses and a compressed air cannon and found a direct strike on the front of the canopy  could deflect the Plexiglas  enough without shattering it to hit the pilot in the head.  Apparently he was knocked out or stunned and never regained control of the aircraft.  Pretty sad.  We were never told if there was anything that could be done to prevent it happening again.

 

[Unusual Tournament]

There is unconfirmed reports the F-35 landed in Cuba. Everything is weird. I wouldn’t discount the F-35 got hacked 

[+and-then]

4 hours ago, Unusual Tournament said:

There is unconfirmed reports the F-35 landed in Cuba. Everything is weird. I wouldn’t discount the F-35 got hacked 

Hacking it is possible, but that jet was squawking IFF, and our radars would show if it was headed to Cuba.  They'd have shot it down long before it made it to Cuba.  Besides, some debris has already been found in SC.

For those interested in the pilot emergency egress technology:

 

[+and-then]

Officials Find Debris From F-35 Fighter That Crashed in S.C. | Newsmax.com

 

[acidhead]

This landed without a pilot in my back yard today. Am I allowed to keep it? 

[Unusual Tournament]

X.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Unusual Tournament

[Raptor Witness]

I wonder if this plane was carrying any nuclear materials? No one seems concerned.

My guess is, this very expensive plane won’t be their #1, going forward. 

Source

“The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical aviation of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades; the aircraft is planned to be a cornerstone of NATO and U.S.-allied air power and to operate until 2070.^[13][14]”

^Source

Edited September 19, 2023 by Raptor Witness

[Unusual Tournament]

I read somewhere the F-35 was designed to be a transitional fighter, meant for future autonomous flight and combat. 
 

I wouldn’t be surprise if this was an autonomous test gone wrong. Just not logical for a pilot to encounter a problem, put the F-35B in hover mode, eject, and the F-35 precedes to fly off in a level and coherent manner for a hour or so

[Raptor Witness]

At the 6:10 minute mark:

FACT: America’s F-35 will soon Become a Nuclear Bomber. Uploaded 3yrs ago …

https://youtu.be/njbYW3sgD2U?si=z3jFiqRAXuauZOdS

[Duke Wellington]

You guys do know stealth isn`t invisible to radar?

The technology is designed to stop missile locks, not to provide invisibility. Less accurate short wave radar can still see it, its just that doesnt provide the accuracy needed to get a missile to hit it or explode a few dozen metres away.

Hence if they are looking at their radar records they will know the area it is in, but wouldn`t be able to tell the exact spot. So would have asked for witnesses to come forward.

[WVK]

The stealth jet's transponder, which usually helps locate the aircraft, was not working 'for some reason that we haven't yet determined,' said Jeremy Huggins, another spokesman at Joint Base Charleston.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12534129/f-35-missing-joint-base-charleston-stealth-fighter-hackers.html

[Raptor Witness]

5 hours ago, WVK said:

The stealth jet's transponder, which usually helps locate the aircraft, was not working 'for some reason that we haven't yet determined,' …

 

It was raining heavily that afternoon, and as I recall, there was also a severe thunderstorm in the vicinity of the eventual crash site, but I can’t be sure of the exact time and location of that storm.

Perhaps the transponder was turned off, because this was actually a secret domestic mission of some kind.

Apparently, the Defense Department lost the ability to communicate with the aircraft, also, which suggests a bigger problem than just the transponder malfunctioning.

These planes are supposed to have sophisticated communications equipment, which can connect to the computers onboard.

“…. the F-35 has a stored map of all the terrain in the region and if the pilot is going to impact the ground, or a hill, etc the jet will warn the pilot and tell them which way to roll and pitch to avoid impact. That doesn’t help if the pilot has blacked out however, so Auto GCAS now will automatically make the necessary manoeuvres to avoid crashing.”

Source

So why did the plane crash?

[Jon the frog]

5 hours ago, WVK said:

The stealth jet's transponder, which usually helps locate the aircraft, was not working 'for some reason that we haven't yet determined,' said Jeremy Huggins, another spokesman at Joint Base Charleston.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12534129/f-35-missing-joint-base-charleston-stealth-fighter-hackers.html

Doesn't work like half the stuff advertised for that plane...

[Hankenhunter]

HUGE grain of salt not included. 

https://imgur.io/a/o6c3BTc?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark