# Psst...hey, buddy....maybe you've seen an F-35 fighter jet someplace 'round here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295 "2023-09-18T04:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/61 "2023-09-19T21:45:24Z")
No real facts, but obviously an investigation is underway. > **[F-35 fighter jet search turns to recovery as officials probe 'mishap'](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missing-fighter-jet-search-debris-field-found-f-35-mishap-rcna105754)** > > Residents in a South Carolina county were urged Monday night to avoid the area where the debris field was found as a recovery team worked to secure the area. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/62 "2023-09-19T21:59:35Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Actually in the US Military virtually anything that happens to an operating aircraft that is not a result of enemy action is a “mishap”. I would have thought that with the military’s fascination for acronyms, they would have had an acronym to use. Maybe something like “SDFU”. “Somebody done fucked up.” ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/63 "2023-09-19T22:30:20Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Leaked document of USMC search for missing F-35: Oh man, that’s _good!_ > [@smithsb](#): > > Mostly in jest like my posted cartoon above. . . . > . . . So, just kidding. Yes, meant _purely_ in good-natured humor. I’ve deployed with both the Marine Corps and Army before (as Air Force) and have worked with the Army and Navy, learning that: 1. If you need it broken or dead, give it to a Marine. 2. If you need more paperwork than necessary, with a delay on delivery, but weekly staff meetings overloaded with PowerPoint while simply awaiting a contract with an acquisition source, give it to a Soldier. 3. If you need it sunken or to be a navigational hazard to commerce, give it to a Sailor. 4. If you need it with more bells and whistles than necessary to act as a ‘multi-mission platform’ that doesn’t really specialize in anything, or simply have money to burn, give it to an Airman. 5. If you’re not sure you need it, and won’t know what to do with it on arrival, give it to a Guardian. Needless to say, _all_ the branches levied their opinions and “expertise” on the F-35 program. :: D&R :: Tripler Man, I’m on _fire_ tonight!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/64 "2023-09-20T01:25:48Z")
thx for clearing up the “mishap” phrase … to a non-native-speaker it still sounds a bit like **“ooops…”** to me . ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/65 "2023-09-20T01:32:11Z")
The DoD’s logic is that the term “accident” carries a strong connotation of “It just happened, nobody could have predicted or prevented it”. Which is not what they want. A mishap is literally a happening that was bad. IOW “something bad happened”. No connotation that god or bad luck or randomness did it. Instead, there is a clear cause or causes, whether mechanical or human or weather or communication or … And by golly whatever that collection of cause(s) was, we’ll find it and if possible do things differently going forward to prevent or minimize recurrences. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/66 "2023-09-20T15:06:31Z")
There’s speculation that the malfunction that caused the pilot to eject was…the ejection mechanism. [What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 fighter jet crash and what went wrong | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f35-crash-military-marines-plane-0a99d551aeff9eeab1a105215d7f203d) > The Marine Corps’ variant of the F-35 is different from the Air Force and Navy versions in that it can take off and land like a helicopter — which allows it to operate on amphibious assault ships. But it’s also different in that it’s the only one of the three variants that has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat, according to seat manufacturer Martin-Baker. That has raised questions as to whether the malfunction the pilot experienced was the seat itself. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/67 "2023-09-20T16:21:16Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Leaked document of USMC search for missing F-35: Yes, good one! I still have my box of crayons from a good friend. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/68 "2023-09-20T16:34:27Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > There’s speculation that the malfunction that caused the pilot to eject was…the ejection mechanism. > > [What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 fighter jet crash and what went wrong | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f35-crash-military-marines-plane-0a99d551aeff9eeab1a105215d7f203d) Interesting. So far no real evidence for that, just the open question of “why jump out of an evidently flyable jet?” Off top of head I can think of a couple of other potential reasons. 1. Spatial disorientation such that the pilot’s gyros got so confused they couldn’t control the airplane even though it was on a reasonably even keel. Jumping out at low altitude under those circumstances would be be the book answer. There have been reports of major bad weather in the area at the time. 2. Lightning strike. Between startle and perhaps knocking out some of the fully-computerized instruments and displays, the pilot may have hastily concluded the thing wasn’t flyable while he was still in the clouds and close to the ground. The pilot then jumps out, the computers self-reset, and the airplane toddles off solo to its eventual crunchy fate. 3. There have been a spate of issues over the years with the oxygen supply system of the F-35. Resulting in partial asphyxiation, hypoxia, and some degree of panic attack. USN & USMC T-45 & F/A-18s went around that bush for awhile too. Of course once this starts occurring around the fleet, pilots get over-sensitized and a certain amount of mass hysteria causes additional events of simple nerves and overexertion to be reported as malfunctions. Jumping out at low altitude, versus just removing your face mask seems like a more reasonable response, but suddenly being unable to breath has a way of occupying all your brain bytes in a manner non-conducive to calm rational reflection. As to the airplane on “autopilot” I rather suspect that’s more a matter of computerized fly-by-wire airplanes having artificial stability. Such that in the absence of control inputs the computers will keep the thing going dead-straight ahead & level. Unlike an old fashioned airplane that is stable-ish over a term of seconds but will inevitably wander off into a spiral dive within a minute or two. Especially when just de-stabilized by the loss of a bunch of weight forward when the seat and pilot and canopy depart, plus very different airflow and drag around the now-weird fuselage. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/69 "2023-09-20T16:40:25Z")
Aren’t fighter jets, particularly stealth jets, [inherently unstable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxed_stability)? As in, they need their computers working to keep it flyable. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/70 "2023-09-21T02:43:07Z")
There was an ear-witness for the crash. Be sure to watch the video with your volume up. [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4213266-i-heard-a-boom-man-said-f-35-jet-shook-home-before-crashing-in-south-carolina/](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4213266-i-heard-a-boom-man-said-f-35-jet-shook-home-before-crashing-in-south-carolina/) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/71 "2023-09-21T03:12:35Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There was an ear-witness for the crash. Randolph White is a legend. I kept expecting him to say “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/72 "2023-09-21T03:46:04Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > It’s a meme the US Marines are the dumbest branch of the military hence the use of crayons instead of more elegant means of communication… Most of the memes that I’ve seen revolve around Marines being so dumb that they actually eat crayons. Do a Google image search for “Marines eating crayons” and you’ll get a lot of relevant results. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/73 "2023-09-22T13:19:09Z")
We saw it flying upside down 100 feet above the trees, then heard a big explosion, but we didn’t realize anything was wrong… > **[A family said they saw the missing F-35 fighter jet flying upside down at...](https://news.yahoo.com/family-said-saw-missing-f-055312513.html)** > > "Our kids always give a little salute, so we said: 'Look at the plane. Oh my gosh, it's so low,'" Adrian Truluck told NBC News. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/74 "2023-09-22T13:23:00Z")
Sounds like maybe we’ve found a few new recruits for the Marines once those kids get old enough. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/75 "2023-09-22T13:24:54Z")
These must be the equal and opposite people to the ones who live a mile from an airport or hospital and go into a full-blown panic on Facebook or Nextdoor every time they hear a helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/76 "2023-09-23T01:28:03Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Aren’t fighter jets, particularly stealth jets, [inherently unstable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxed_stability)? As in, they need their computers working to keep it flyable Yes. What they’re saying is that, as long as the computers are working, they should keep the plane flying straight and level even in the absence of a pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/77 "2023-09-23T01:40:26Z")
Fair enough. But that then suggests the question of why the pilot bailed if his plane was still flying straight and level because the computers were doing their job? I mean, presumably something was going wrong but were things so bad that the pilot needed to eject when he did? I guess we will not know until a formal inquiry is done (if then). ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/78 "2023-09-23T01:44:18Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I guess we will not know until a formal inquiry is done (if then). True. But I find the auto-eject to be a compelling suspect here. > **[The F-35B Can Eject Its Pilot Automatically](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-f-35b-can-eject-its-pilot-automatically)** > > Only the F-35B variant has an auto-eject system, a feature that is tied to its ability to hover in mid-air. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/79 "2023-09-23T22:12:17Z")
This was a bigger deal than they let on, I think, if that’s possible. Remember golf celebrity Payne Stewart? He was making a short hop in Florida or something like that, theory is the aircraft didn’t pressurize correctly, all on board passed out due to hypoxia, and it flew on autopilot all the way to South Dakota before it finally crashed. The tin-foil brigade lurking in the nether regions of the internet posits that the F35 was hacked, and the pilot was ejected remotely, you know, some hacker on the other side of the world. I don’t believe that, or I’d prefer not to anyway. They did ground the entire fleet at least briefly so something ejection seat related may be a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295/80 "2023-09-24T01:27:50Z")
If only they had listened to Trump, this never would have happened. > [@Truth Social](#): > > On numerous occasions I told the Air Force and Lockheed Martin that the F-35 Fighter Jet is, in effect, DEFECTIVE, because it only has one engine. They told me that the engine is so good and reliable that it will never break down. I said that’s not possible, everything breaks down at one time or another, just look at Crooked Joe Biden. You need redundancy, you need TWO ENGINES! No high cost modern day plane should have only one engine. Well, an F-35 fell out of the sky yesterday. Hear we go again!..As they say, “Trump was right about everything.” Thank you!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-maybe-youve-seen-an-f-35-fighter-jet-someplace-round-here/990295.md?page=5)