The United States Marine Corps frantically called 911 after losing one of its F-35 Fighter planes in an airborne “mishap” that led to a crash in South Carolina, according to newly released audio files.
The $90 million stealth jet went missing on Sept. 17 over the state’s Lowcountry region after its pilot safely ejected and the plane continued flying unmanned into the unknown as it disappeared from view.
“I believe we potentially have an aircraft that went down in Williamsburg County earlier today,” a major from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort told a Williamsburg County 911 dispatcher, according to audio files obtained by ABC News.
“You believe you have an aircraft that went down in Williamsburg County?” the befuddled dispatcher asked in response.
“That is correct,” the major said back. “We are trying to look for it and we are coming up dry so far.”
While it was previously unclear whether or not the plane’s transponder was functioning properly, the Marine Corps was able to provide coordinates of the area where they believed the jet went down, according to the files.
Dispatch immediately requested a medical crew to the area for the pilot flying the jet, but later called them off when the Marines reported the pilot hand ejected and landed safely.
Audio released in September in the days after the crash shows further confusion in the emergency response when 911 dispatchers in South Carolina received a report from a resident who reported having a pilot on his property.
“We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,” the homeowner told the stunned dispatcher, who had to ask again what happened.
He even handed the phone over to the pilot who provided details to the dispatcher. He said he was feeling “OK” after parachuting roughly 2,000 feet to the ground — but he complained that his back hurt.
The day after the crash, a field of debris was located in a rural area near the border of Williamsburg and Florence counties — some 75 miles from where the pilot landed.
The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation by the Marine Corps. Officials called the incident a “mishap.”
