'Why did the pilot eject from the F35' conspiracy claims emerge in wake of mishap

On Sunday afternoon, an F35 jet flying over South Carolina seemingly disappeared after the pilot put the aircraft on autopilot and ejected from it. The pilot reportedly parachuted to a neighborhood in North Charleston.

Debris from the jet were later found in a rural area near Williamsburg County, where it crashed, as per the BBC. Following the crash, authorities were initially searching for the F35 jet in the Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion regions. However, as per officials, it was found "two hours north-east of Joint Base Charleston."

The distance between the crash site and the aircraft's last known location has now raised questions about why the pilot had to eject himself out of the aircraft and could not land it safely instead, given that the jet continued to remain airborne and go a significant distance before it crashed. Many also wondered if the F35 jet was hacked, or operated remotely.

The military has so far remained tight-lipped on why the pilot was ejected from the F35 jet. A spokesperson addressed the incident, saying:

"The mishap is currently under investigation, and we are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigative process.”

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Conspiracy theories are rife as netizens speculate over what caused the pilot to eject from the F35 jet

Several netizens have also questioned why the aircraft could not be tracked down quicker. As per the BBC, JJ Gertler, an expert in the matter and an analyst working for a defence consultancy, laid down what might have happened:

"A plausible sequence of events is that when the pilot ejected, the electronics for the transponder were fried and thus the military was no longer able to track its location.”

Despite this, netizens continue to ask questions about the tracking device of the jet and more details about its sensors, fuel as well as other factors that might explain its disappearance. Several netizens pointed out that it didn’t make sense to them how a pilot could be "forced to eject from a plane" that was still capable of being airborne.

It was also reported that another jet was flying alongside the F35 at the time of its disappearance, raising further questions about why that aircraft didn't follow the jet after the pilot ejected.

Authorities are yet to reveal further developments on the matter. The aircraft belonged to the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which was used to train pilots.