NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to an audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press.
The four-minute recording captures the bizarre circumstances for the three unidentified people involved: a North Charleston resident calmly explaining that a pilot just parachuted into his backyard, the pilot who doesn't know what became of his F-35 jet, and a puzzled dispatcher trying to make sense of it all.
“We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we're trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,” the resident said.
The pilot, who said he was 47, reported feeling “OK” after falling what he estimated was 2,000 feet. Only his back hurt, he said. The resident said the pilot looked fine.
“Ma'am, a military jet crashed. I'm the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling,” the pilot said. “I'm not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash landed somewhere. I ejected.”
Later in the call, he made another plea for medical help.
“Ma'am, I'm a pilot in a military aircraft, and I ejected. So I just rode a parachute down to the ground. Can you please send an ambulance?” the pilot said.
The Marines have described the pilot as…
