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Reuters: Wreckage confirmed to be crashed Japanese F-35 fighter, pilot still missing
TOKYO (Reuters) - Search and rescue teams found wreckage from a Japanese F-35 stealth fighter that crashed over the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, but the pilot remains missing, authorities said on Wednesday.
The aircraft, less than one-year-old, was the first F-35 to be assembled in Japan and was only in the air for 28 minutes on Tuesday, a defense official said.
It is only the second F-35 to crash in the two-decades it has been flying.
The advanced, single-seat jet was flying about 135 km (84 miles) east of the Misawa air base in Aomori Prefecture at about 7:27 p.m. (1027 GMT) on Tuesday when it disappeared from radar, the Air Self Defense Force said.
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Update: Japanese military confirms F-35 crash & discovery of wreckage (RT)
WNU Editor: 30 minutes into the flight and without a word from the pilot the jet disappears. A lot of questions are being asked.
