Police release strange 911 call made by pilot who ejected from F-35
'I'm not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash landed somewhere.'
Authorities have released the recordings of a 911 call after a fighter jet pilot parachuted from his plane and landed in a suburban backyard.
The strange four-minute recording reveals new details about the crash that took place in rural South Carolina on Sunday.
The pilot ejected from the F-35 just north of Charleston International Airport, and landed safely outside a home in North Charleston.
In the recording, the pilot and a homeowner ask emergency dispatcher to send over an ambulance and ‘get rescue rolling’ to find the downed plane.
‘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,’ says the homeowner, who has not been identified.
The pilot himself then jumps in to clarify: ‘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.’
‘How far did he fall?’ the bewildered 911 dispatcher asks.
‘I was at 2,000 feet,’ the pilot says.
‘Okay, and what caused the fall?’
‘Uh, an aircraft failure,’ he replies.
The dispatcher goes on to ask if he received any injuries or had any serious bleeding. The pilot says he feels ok, and can’t tell if he is bleeding anywhere.
‘No you look fine, just a couple scratches,’ the homeowner says.
He then asks the dispatcher if his F-35 has been reported crashed yet.
\’Has there been a report of an airplane crash?’
‘I have not seen any come up yet’ she responds.
The pilot then clarified exactly what happened: ‘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?’
The plane continued flying for about 60 miles after losing its pilot. The crash left military officials scrambling to find the aircraft, which was equipped with stealth capabilities.
The plane was eventually located in a wooded area outside rural Indiantown, South Carolina. No one was hurt in the crash, but the impact left some locals startled and shaken.
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