The US Marine Corps called 911 for help when it lost that F-35 jet over South Carolina in September
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- The US Marine Corps lost an F-35 jet in September after the pilot accidentally ejected midflight.
- Newly released audio reveals that to find the jet, the US Marine Corps called 911.
- 911 was little help though since they also didn't know how to find the jet, according to the audio.
The US Marine Corps found themselves in an unusual emergency in September: They had lost an F-35 fighter jet somewhere over South Carolina. And what does one do in an emergency? Call 911.
That's exactly why they did, according to newly released audio recordings.
The US Marine Corps called 911 to report the missing F-35 after a 'mishap' caused the pilot to eject into a residential neighborhood, ABC reported.
"I believe we potentially have an aircraft that went down in Williamsburg County earlier today," a major from Air Station Beaufort told a 911 dispatcher, according to ABC.
"You believe you have an aircraft that went down in Williamsburg County?" the dispatcher asks in response.
"That is correct," the major replies. "We are trying to look for it and we are coming up dry so far."
The jet's pilot also called 911 after he landed in someone's backyard, Business Insider reported at the time.
"Ma'am, I'm a pilot in a military aircraft and I ejected," the pilot said in the call. So, I just rode a parachute down to the ground. Can you please send an ambulance?"
The man whose yard the pilot landed in speaks first in the call, trying to explain the situation to the 911 operator before the pilot jumps in and takes over and tells her to "get rescue rolling." He did not elaborate any further about what caused the crash other than describing it as an "aircraft failure."
Dispatch records obtained by ABC show that officials were unsure how to tackle the project of locating a missing jet with limited information about its location. First responders initially sent a medical crew to aid with the call, but recalled them after learning there was only one person on board and that the captain safely ejected, ABC reported.
One law enforcement official can be heard saying over dispatch audio that the military will "find it quicker than us" because "they've got more resources than we do," the report says.
The Marine Corps eventually found the crashed jet in a field north of Charleston. Jeremy Huggins, a spokesperson for Joint Base Charleston, originally told NBC News that the jet was in autopilot when the captain was ejected but later walked the claim back. It's still unclear what caused the jet to crash.
The crash caused nearly $100 million in damages, according to ABC.