Posted on 09/18/2023 6:25:01 AM PDT by Red Badger
“The program has drawn much scrutiny and criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and much-delayed deliveries. The acquisition strategy of concurrent production of the aircraft while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits.”
The more they overdesign the pipes, the easier it is to clog the toilet.
What if he was not the only pilot on board?
I wonder if we’re ever going to be told what the “MISHAP” was? Something stinks about this entire incident.
I suspect a little Chinese guy hiding behind him jumped in the pilot seat and took it.
More information:
* The wingman stayed with the open chute.
* The mishap F-35C was on autopilot when the pilot ejected, and the aircraft continued on in level flight.
* The transponder of the mishap aircraft was not functioning, so the zombie aircraft was not tracked on ATC radar.
Postulating / hangar-flying here ...
South Kenwood Dr is about 3 blocks EAST of the approach to Charleston (CHS) airport. (landing from the north). If I read correctly, the pilot was found there after ejecting.
*IF* the aircraft had departed controlled flight at speed and altitude (software failure) then the ejection could have been extra violent from a tumbling aircraft going 350+ knots. Pilot might be in rough shape; otherwise a hospitalization is SOP after an ejection. (well it used to be)
*IF* the flight departed from the USMC field in Beaufort, headed roughly NE, then the plane could have been at considerable altitude flying over CHS (as a navigation waypoint) on its way to a range farther north.
*IF* it nosed into the swamps southwest of Naval Weapons Station, Joint Base Charleston, (which is just NE of the CHS airport) then ‘they’ might never find it. That muck is DEEP. It’s like that flight down in FL that had a fire on board and flew at speed into the muck of the Everglades. I don’t recall it ever being found.
Wow!
I wonder if the software ejected him?!?!?
Flight continued??? OMG
And yeah, domestic air traffic control radar would have like ZERO chance of getting a skin paint off that aircraft.
The mystery deepens.
I find this fascinating. I wonder if the entire flight path was entered, or just heading, altitude and speed.
Movie worthy at this point.
Premature ejectulation
Kinda reminds me of the EA-6B....
All weather aircraft...
Can’t fly in fog..
I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Blowing canopy, away you go....
I knew an old crop duster pilot who joined the Air force and few Saber Jets in the 50’s. One day he was in a formation just outside of Memphis.
The formation flew into clouds and as he recounted later to me, they went in the clouds while in formation and he said he lost sight of his wingmen and he said, I couldn’t see anyone, so I bailed out. Just like that. He claimed he had power failure and didn’t want to lose more than one jet.
Crop dusters were crazy bunch. Lots of fun.
BeGood/StayStrong
ARB
Yes. He is aboard the enterprise in the care of capt kirk.
Finders keepers.
I wonder if this was in anyway related to the William Tell air combat exercises that were supposed to conclude on 9/15?
Yep...
My concern is wondering about how bass and stripers were killed by the F-35 if it went into Santee Cooper...
Pilot would need to be charged for not having a fishing license...
Curious... I am a few hundred miles north along the coast, east of Havelock/Cherry Point and was in my workshop when I felt/heard a single thud that shook the shop yesterday afternoon. We hear similar things every now and then since there is a bombing range nearby but this one felt a little different and I stepped out into the yard and looked around, went into the house to make sure all is good in there, etc.
Not saying that it made its way up here but wondering if some jets might have been scrambled and were double-timing it. Haven’t seen any mention of that.
It could have made it there................
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