A feature on fighter jets meant to protect pilots in an emergency could explain how an F-35 managed to fly 60 miles (100 kilometers) after its pilot bailed out before crashing in a rural area in South Carolina, the U.S. Marine Corps said Thursday.
The advanced fighter jet crashed Sunday after a malfunction prompted the pilot to eject over Charleston and land in a residential backyard not far from Charleston International Airport. The plane, which was at an altitude of only about 1,000 feet (300 meters), kept flying until it crashed near Indiantown. It took more than a day to locate the wreckage.
