Williamsburg County road closed for ‘unknown period’ for jet debris recovery

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Deputies in Williamsburg County are asking the public to avoid the area where a debris field of parts of a missing F-35 military jet was found.

In a multi-agency search, the field was found Monday afternoon, a day after the stealth fighter jet went missing. Joint Base Charleston said on Sunday the military jet disappeared after the pilot had to eject after a “mishap.” The pilot was taken to the hospital and is recovering.

RELATED: Parts of F-35 military jet found in Williamsburg Co.; Joint Base Charleston releases statement

The plane’s wreckage was found in a wooded area off Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39, according to the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office. There were no injuries when the plane crashed, deputies said.

The U.S. Marine Corps is working on the recovery process. The sheriff’s office called the debris field “extensive.”

In the meantime, the sheriff’s office said the South Carolina Department of Transportation was asked to provide lane closure signs for roughly a mile closure of Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39. The road will be closed for “an unknown period,” deputies said.

The sheriff’s office announced the following detour routes:

Detour Routes:

Vehicular traffic traveling north on Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39 should:

• Turn right onto Midway Road/S-45-84.
• Left onto Baptist Road/S-45-85.
• Left onto Bartells Road/S-45-118.
• Right onto Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39.

Vehicular traffic traveling south on Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39 should:

• Turn left onto Bartells Road/S-45-118.
• Turn right onto Baptist Road/S-45-85.
• Turn right onto Midway Road/S-45-84.
• Turn left onto Old Georgetown Road/S-45-39.

Public Affairs Specialist Jeremy Huggins told our sister station, Live 5 News in Charleston, that the incident involved a Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort F-35B Lighting II jet from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office called the F-35 program the Department of Defense’s “most expensive weapon system program.”

The estimated cost for the program is nearly $1.7 trillion for the aircraft and systems.

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