Search continues for Marine jet fighter that went down near Charleston over the weekend

The Air Force has joined the effort to find an advanced Marine Corps jet fighter that went down Sunday afternoon near Charleston, South Carolina.

The Air Force’s Joint Base Charleston is the military base closest to the expected crash site of the F-35 Lightning II. The jet fighter is assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, about 65 miles southwest of Charleston.

The pilot, who has not been identified, safely ejected after what the Air Force described as a “mishap.”

“We are focusing our attention north of [Joint Base Charleston], around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion,” the Air Force said in a statement.

Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion are large, manmade lakes created in the 1940s to provide electricity to rural South Carolina residents. Lake Marion has a shoreline more than 315 miles long, and Lake Moultrie’s shoreline is about 210 miles, state officials said.

The F-35 will eventually make up the majority of crewed tactical aviation aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. A number of NATO countries have also ordered or intend to order F-35s. It is expected to be the tactical aircraft cornerstone of the Atlantic alliance for several decades, officials said.