F-35B military plane crashes in coastal South Carolina
Source: CBS News
BEAUFORT, S.C. -- A military plane crashed in coastal South Carolina on Friday, authorities said. The Marine Corps said the pilot of the single-seat aircraft ejected safely.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said the crash was reported about 11:45 a.m. near the Grays Hill community. The plane was an F-35B. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that this marks the first crash of the U.S. military's newest and most expensive aircraft. On Thursday, the Marines announced the aircraft's first use in combat in Afghanistan.
In a statement, Marine Corps Capt. Christopher Harrison said the pilot was being evaluated by medical personnel. No civilians were injured, Harrison said.
The plane belonged to a Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501), stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, which is about 4 miles from the crash site.
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Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-plane-crash-beaufort-county-south-carolina-live-updates-2018-09-28/
Jack-o-Lantern
(974 posts)dbackjon
(6,578 posts)jpak
(41,760 posts)dbackjon
(6,578 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,064 posts)TomVilmer
(1,832 posts)Maxheader
(4,374 posts)Those that serve are still at work protecting the nation..
Fuk you yellow haired stumpy...Our service men and women
deserve better than you...
flotsam
(3,268 posts)in Afghanistan where the opposition has AKs RPGs and IEDs? I would think some obsolete A10s would be both safer and more protective of the pilot and quite a cost saver too?
jgmiller
(395 posts)The Air Force has been trying to kill the A10 for 30 years and congress keeps telling them to keep it. Which in an of itself is shocking that congress is doing their job here. The AF never wanted the A10 in the first place, the Arny forced them to take it in the early 70's and it's proven it's worth ever since. The problem is the A10 isn't fast and sexy, it doesn't have expensive computers (or it didn't originaly) it had old fashioned mechanical gauges and it wasn't supersonic and it couldn't dog fight.
The AF doesn't like anything that doesn't go really fast and high and shoots missles. Haven't you ever wondered why the Army flies helicopters and the AF doesn't care? Helicopters aren't sexy.
Also the Marines don't fly A10's this was a Marine F35 that crashed, the Marines do fly Harriers which the F35 is replacing and the Harrier did need to be replaced and the only option given to the Marines was the F35 so there's nothing they can do about that. The Navy was supposed to move to all F35's but now is working on a plan to build more F18's because the F35 has about half the range of an F18.
flotsam
(3,268 posts)90% of all our air force needs could be handled with early Curtiss monoplanes and and Brewster Buffalos. Throw in a handful of Vietnam era jets for countries that actually have an air force of any kind and a flock of B52s and we would be set. And change out the gulfstreams for C47s and eliminate a lot of VIP and General officer travel. I've traveled cross country on those and it's not a flight you highly anticipate unless they're taking you home...
Maybe I came across as a ludite, I didn't mean to. I never said the F35 was a bad idea, frankly I think it was a good idea that has gone bad. I think the F22 was a fantastic idea that actually works but they didn't buy enough of them. I do think that the AF loses focus on the idea that they need different planes for different tasks. They could easily build a modern version of the A10 if they stuck to basic principles, the problem is they won't, they will have mission creep the moment they start designing it and it will end up looking a lot of like the F35.