Unraveling the Mysterious Disappearance: Pilots Avert Disaster With a Timely Ejection

A perplexing call was made to a 911 operator after an F-35 fighter jet vanished into the sky of South Carolina.

"I believe there is a pilot at our residence who claims to have been ejected from the aircraft," the caller stated, urgently requesting an ambulance.

"I'm sorry, could you tell me what happened?" requested the operator, as stated in a CNN-obtained recording.

"We have a pilot who landed in my backyard, and we're attempting to arrange for an ambulance to come to the house, please."

"Were getting help on the way," the operator said, before the pilot took the phone.

"We had a military jet crash," he said. "Im the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling."

And then he added: "Im not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash-landed somewhere. I ejected."

Airmen from Joint Base Charleston during the recovery process for the jet

Henry Taylor/The Post and Courier/AP

The fighter jet, worth $100 million, disappeared.

A few hours later, it was discovered miles away, leading to a Pentagon investigation into the incident that resulted in the pilot being forced to eject near Charleston on Monday.

In the immediate aftermath, the 911 operator processed what the pilot had just said.

"OK, I understand, sir," she said.

A United States Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II is featured in this photo taken during the Singapore Airshow 2022 at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore, in February 2022. The F-35B Lightning II can be seen participating in an impressive aerial display.

Suhaimi Abdullah/AP/File

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The 47-year-old pilot said he fell more than 2,000 feet.

"What caused the fall?"

"An aircraft failure."

The 911 operator asked if there was serious bleeding.

"I dont know. I cant see myself."

The 911 caller interjected, "No, you look fine… just a couple scratches."

"I feel OK. My back just hurts," the pilot said. "Has there been a report of an airplane crash?"

"I have not seen any," the operator said.

The debris field of the jets, located approximately two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, was found on Monday following a comprehensive search conducted by multiple agencies on the ground and in the air. Authorities had made an uncommon appeal to the public for assistance in locating the aircraft. The pilot, who was in stable condition, was transported to a nearby medical facility.

During the phone call on Sunday, the operator inquired about the location of the pilot's injuries:

"Ma'am, as a pilot in the military aircraft, I had to eject and safely descended using a parachute. Could you kindly arrange for an ambulance to be sent?"

This report includes contributions from CNN's Nouran Salahieh, Oren Liebermann, and Holly Yan.