Something went wrong with an F-35 over a city in South Carolina

The pilot ejected over the city but the F-35 kept flying. It crashed in a rural area 50 miles away. Was the plane smarter than the commander who ordered the F-35 flight low over a city?

The pilot ejected at 2000 feet and parachuted safely into someone's backyard in densely populated North Charleston, South Carolina. The F-35 kept on flying. And got lost.

Debris of the F-35 was found a day later 60 miles northeast in a rural part of Williamsburg County. Nobody was hurt.

The Charleston resident and the F-35 pilot called 911. They asked for an ambulance. here is the text of their 911 conversation:

911 Dispatcher: Tell me exactly what happened.

Resident: We, we I guess we got a pilot at our house and he says he got ejected or he ejected from the plane. So we just see if we can get some ambulance please.

911 Dispatcher: Sorry, What happened?

Resident: We got a pilot in the house. And guess he landed in my backyard and we are trying to see if we can get an ambulance to the house please.

Pilot: We had a military jet crash. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling. I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash landed somewhere. I ejected.

911 Dispatcher: OK. I understand sir. How far did he fall?

Pilot: I was at 2000 feet. Has there been a report of an airplane crash?

911 Dispatcher: I have not seen any come up yet. What part of the body was injured?

Pilot: Ma’am, I’m a pilot in a military aircraft and I ejected. So I just rode a parachute down to the ground. Can you please send an ambulance?

911 Dispatcher: Yes sir, I’ve told you they are on their way. I’m just required to ask these questions while they’re enroute.  

The Marine F-35 was about one mile from the runway at Joint Base Charleston when something went wrong. The F-35 has an ejection button. The Marine version of the F-35 also has a system to automatically eject the pilot. So far, we don’t know what went wrong and which ejection system activated.

What we do know for sure

What we do know for sure is that something can go wrong while an F-35 is flying low over a city. We also know that it is rare indeed for a military aircraft to keep flying for long after a pilot ejects. Normally the military aircraft is on its way to crashing when the pilot presses the button to eject. Both usually hit the ground in the same general area. But not this time.

An F-35 crash in a city could be catastrophic

The Marine F-35B weighs about 30,000 pounds, and 42% of that weight is flammable military carbon composite materials. When ignited in the fuel fire after a crash, thousands of pounds of combustion products, including toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, particulates, and fibers are released.

If that F-35 had crashed into the City of North Charleston where the pilot came down it could have been catastrophic: Death, injury, and destruction on a city-wide scale. Mass evacuation of at least a full square mile around the crash site.

Blind luck or a plane that was smarter than the commanders

One possibility is that, whatever its defects, this F-35B jet was a lot smarter than the Marine commanders who ordered the flight low over North Charleston. The fact that the unpiloted F-35B kept flying and got far away from the City before crashing in a rural area was awesome good news for the City and its people. But such blind luck is not to be relied upon.

Why was the F-35B flying low over North Charleston?

To the credit of the US Marines, the F-35B involved in this accident is actually based at the Marine Corps Air Station in rural Beaufort, South Carolina. Its home base there is some 50 miles southwest of where the pilot ejected near Joint Base Charleston. Why the F-35 was flying low over the City of North Charleston in the first place has not been revealed.

GAO Report: Maintenance Disaster

A few days after the F-35 crash in South Carolina, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report stating that F-35 fighter jets are “mission capable” only 55% of the time. Mission capable is defined in the GAO report as capable of performing just one of the missions that the jet is assigned. It’s not the highest of standards. It says that part of the problem is maintenance delays:

Maintenance challenges negatively affect F-35 aircraft readiness. The F-35 fleet mission capable rate—the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions—was about 55 percent in March 2023, far below program goals. This performance was due in part to challenges with depot and organizational maintenance.

But there is another part of the problem, and that is that the F-35 is far from a paragon of reliability: it needs a lot of maintenance. It has a lot of known defects. The F-35 is a lemon.

One percent of all F-35s ever built have crashed

So far, one percent of all the F-35 jets ever built have crashed. But with the GAO reporting that nearly half of the F-35 fleet is grounded and non-functional at any time, the crash rate of what is considered available to fly is actually closer to two percent.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott Plays Deadly Dice with Cities in Vermont

All this suggests that it is not the best idea to be flying F-35 jets low over the Cities of Burlington, Winooski, and South Burlington and over the town of Williston hundreds of times a month to train pilots.

The crash calls into question the judgement of the Governor, Adjutant General, and Wing Commander. The ones who have the constitutional authority over all aspects of Vermont Air National Guard training. The ones who have unfettered authority to order a halt to the F-35 training from a runway amidst the most densely populated cities in the State of Vermont.

This runway aims directly at the center of Winooski, one mile away. It aims at the big-box stores in Williston, practically at the other end of the runway in the other direction.

Add on the fact that the Air Force itself reported that repeated exposure to the 115-decibel noise of the F-35 impairs the cognitive development of children. 1,300 children live in the extreme noise contour of the F-35. Also important is that repeated exposure to military jet noise at that level impairs hearing, and increases the chance of heart disease and stroke.

If you live far outside the noise contour the noise you hear may just be annoying. But don’t forget that 2,963 Vermont families live within the extreme noise contour and are subjected to mass suffering, especially when they are outdoors or have the windows open.

Importantly, the military’s own discipline requires separation (“Distinction”) between such dangerous military training operations as the F-35 and populated areas. The governor and commanders know they are required to keep a good space between such military operations and populated areas.

The training with the F-35 from a runway in a densely populated city is not only dangerous. It’s also illegal. The state’s political and military leaders have full responsibility. They must all be removed from office, prosecuted, and incarcerated.

Mayors and City Councilors

Nor are the Mayors and City Councilors of those cities who acquiesce doing their jobs to protect public health and safety. They have made themselves obsequious servants of the military instead of enforcing the constitutional requirement for civilian rule to protect civilians from wrongful military conduct.

Local News Media

Nor is the local online, print, and broadcast news media practicing traditional watchdog journalism. Investigation and reporting of the crash, nuclear, climate, and illegal features of the F-35 training from the airport in the Chamberlin School neighborhood of South Burlington has been entirely absent from local news media. When it comes to military matters they are fawning scribes for those with power.

A catastrophe waiting to happen

A total breakdown of each and every one of the traditional checks on those in positions of authority is what we are seeing in Vermont. A total breakdown in public policy. A catastrophe waiting to happen.

Write or call your public servants and demand an immediate halt to F-35 training in cities.

Governor Phil Scott 802-828-3333 Chief of Staff <Jason.Gibbs@vermont.gov>

Submit your report & complaint to the online F-35 Report & Complaint Form: https://tinyurl.com/5d89ckj9

See all the graphs and in-your-own words statements on the F-35 Spring-Summer 2021 Report & Complaint Form (513 responses): https://tinyurl.com/3svacfvx.

See links to the graphs and in-your-own words statements on all four versions of the F-35 Report & Complaint Form since Spring 2020, with a total of 1670 responses from 658 different people plus 77 more so far on the form that remains active now.

Senator Bernie Sanders 800-339-9834 <Senator@sanders.senate.gov>

Senator Peter Welch 888-605-7270 Chief of Staff <patrick.satalin@mail.house.gov>

Rep. Becca Balint <RepBeccaBalint@mail.house.gov>

Burlington City Council <citycouncil@burlingtonvt.gov>

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger <mayor@burlingtonvt.gov>

Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott <klott@winooskivt.org>

S. Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle <hriehle@sburl.com>

Williston Selectboard Chair Terry Macaig <macaig@msn.com>

VT Senate President Philip Baruth <Philip.Baruth@uvm.edu>

VT House Speaker Jill Krowinski <jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us>

Attorney General Charity Clark <Charity.Clark@vermont.gov>

States Attorney Sarah George <Sarah.fair.george@gmail.com>

Vermont’s Federal Prosecutor <usavt.contactus1@usdoj.gov>

Adjutant General Brig Gen Gregory C Knight <gregory.c.knight.mil@mail.mil>

Major J Scott Detweiler <john.s.detweiler.mil@mail.mil>

Wing Commander Col Dan Finnegan <daniel.finnegan@mail.mil>

Vermont National Guard Inspector General Lt. Col. Edward J Soychak <edward.soychak@us.af.mil>

US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Col. Pamela D. Koppelmann <pamela.d.koppelmann.mil@mail.mil>

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall <Frank.Kendall@us.af.mil>