Marine investigators say an F-35B stealth fighter pilot grew disoriented amid multiple system failures while flying in stormy weather over North Charleston in 2023, prompting the pilot to eject even though the jet was still capable of flying.

Investigators identified an "electrical event" during the flight that triggered multiple malfunctions, including the aircraft's radios, transponder and air navigation system.

Glitches also caused the plane's $400,000 helmet-mounted display to flicker at least three times.

But the investigation concluded that the pilot's decision to bail out of the jet was "ultimately inappropriate" because other instrumentation was "partially operational." As proof, the report said: "Furthermore, the aircraft continued to fly for an extended period after ejection."

The Marine Corps report redacted the pilot's name, but a Defense News story Oct. 31 identified him as Col. Charles "Tre" Del Pizzo, 49.

The Marine investigative report said no punitive actions were taken against the pilot. However, Defense News quoted Del Pizzo as saying he recently lost command of a squadron in Arizona because of the mishap.

The report comes more than a year after two Beaufort-based F-35Bs were flying near thunderstorms over Charleston International Airport. Under these dark clouds, one pilot ejected. But his F-35B kept flying.

Search parties deployed across the region, hunting for a crash site. The situation grew more bizarre as time passed without any evidence of a crash. Social media memes spread, including one with an F-35 on a milk carton and the word “Missing” splashed across it.

About 27 hours later, search crews finally found the wreckage. Debris was strewn across a field and swamp in the Indiantown community in rural Williamsburg County, about 64 miles from North Charleston. The crash had burned patches of pines brown and scattered fragments across a cotton field.

Military cleanup units arrived, erected signs declaring the area a national defense zone and excavated a crater big enough to hold a couple of trucks.

Then, more than a year passed without any word about what caused the ejection, a delay that raised eyebrows. The Marine Corps normally issues a preliminary report within a few months, Dan Grazier, a defense expert with the Stimson Center think tank, told The Post and Courier earlier this year.

“The longer (the investigation) drags out and we don’t hear about the findings, the more suspicious it gets that there’s some systemic problem with the aircraft,” he said.

The Marine investigation ultimately found a combination of system and pilot errors led to the ejection and crash.

Details of F-35B ejection

In its investigation, the Marine Corps said the Beaufort-based pilots knew the weather might be bad over Charleston the afternoon of Sept. 17, 2023, but forecasters predicted at least four miles of visibility, so the mission went forward.

But the weather soon grew worse, with lightning detected within 10 miles of Joint Base Charleston. The two pilots completed their training mission and planned to land at the Charleston base. One landed, but the second ran into trouble.

The F-35B is capable of hovering, and as the pilot neared the base, he pressed a button that converts the aircraft from conventional flight to hover mode.

A minute later, displays began to malfunction, the Marine report found. The pilot (identified by Defense News as Col. Del Pizzo) raised his landing gear and put the plane back into its non-hover mode.

In an interview with investigators, the pilot said his helmet-mounted display flickered. The display allows pilots to see through the jet's gray skin, thanks to six external infrared cameras on the plane. It also is the pilot's critical link to flight and tactical sensors.

The pilot said he saw multiple malfunctions on his helmet display, and that he thought the jet might have an engine problem. He lost contact with air traffic controllers. He saw more failures.

"Unsure of which instruments he could trust, (the pilot) perceived he had entered out-of-control flight."

The pilot then "ejected from a flyable aircraft, albeit during a heavy rainstorm compounded with aircraft electrical and display malfunctions," investigators later concluded.

Ejection and crash details

The Marines offered somewhat conflicting details about his experience.

One section of the report described him as a "highly experienced fighter/attack pilot" and an instructor VMFAT-501 in Beaufort. Yet, he also was "relative novice in the F-35B." Another section noted that the pilot had more than 1,200 flight hours on the F-35 before the mishap.

Del Pizzo's official Marine Corps biography said he is from Atlanta and completed his Marine Corps Parris Island training in 1993. He was deployed six times, including roles in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the Second Gulf War and Operation Inherent Resolve, the international war against the Islamic State. He had more than 3,000 hours in multiple military and civilian aircraft.

Ejecting from a fighter jet is a lesson in violence. A line of explosives blows off the canopy. Straps pin a pilot's arms and legs to the seat. Air bags inflate around the pilot's neck and head. A rocket fires, launching the pilot into the air, a process that generates as much as 18 Gs.

During Del Pizzo's ejection, the force ripped off his helmet and mask. The pilot saw he was floating into a residential neighborhood and used his steering toggles to avoid power lines and land in a backyard. A resident helped him into the kitchen and called 911.

The Post and Courier obtained a recording of that call.

“… I guess we got a pilot in our house, and he says he got ejected, or he ejected from the plane,” the resident told the dispatcher. “So can we just see if we can get an ambulance please?”

“I’m sorry, what happened?” the dispatcher said.

Del Pizzo took the phone.

“I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling. I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash-landed somewhere. I ejected.”

Del Pizzo said he was OK but that his back hurt. The dispatcher asked, "OK, and what caused the fall?"

“An aircraft failure,” Del Pizzo answered.

After paramedics arrived, Del Pizzo walked to the ambulance and was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina.

Above, his plane traced an unusual route.

It flew "in a nominally trimmed condition" for 11 minutes and 21 seconds, climbing at a 10-degree angle to about 9,300 feet, then descending in a right turn.

The jet then began "clipping the top of a densely forested area," the report found.

The investigation concludes the jet was able to continue flying due to its "advanced automatic flight-control systems."

The report said Air Force personnel in Charleston lost contact with the plane near Bonneau, about 25 miles north of the base.

Marine investigators offered several reasons for the 27-hour delay in finding the wreckage: the loss of radar contact; its flight below air traffic control's radar horizon; and its stealth technology.

More questions

Investigators cleared the pilot of dereliction of duty. Del Pizzo assumed command of a squadron in Yuma, Arizona, in June, months after investigators had done much of its investigation.

But on Oct. 2, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering relieved Del Pizzo of his command in Yuma, Defense News reported. Gering reportedly cited a "loss of trust and confidence in his ability to execute the responsibilities of his command.”

The Post and Courier could not immediately reach Del Pizzo for comment.

The report comes against a background of air space successes and questions about the jet's reliability.

Together, the three F-35 variants make up the nation’s most expensive weapons program and among the most important. It's known as a fifth generation fighter, meaning it was designed to replace stalwarts such as the F-16 and F-18 fighters.

The Marines said the plane's loss amounted to $100 million, but other cost data suggest a higher price tag of about $150 million apiece, including all necessary and supplies.

The ejection and crash in South Carolina follow at least 10 other F-35 crashes since 2018 and come amid longstanding questions about mounting costs, which may pass the $2 trillion mark for the whole program, according to one recent federal report.

For nearly four years, the Air Force limited certain F-35s from flying near thunderstorms over fears that lightning could cause the fuel system to explode.

Inadequate training and the lack of spare parts also have been chronic problems. The U.S. fleet of F-35s has failed its readiness goals for the past six years, the Government Accountability Office said in an Oct. 21, 2024, analysis.

At the same time, F-35s are being used increasingly in combat operations, including Israel's recent attack against Iran.

Published: Oct. 14, 2024 at 3:08 PM PDT|

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - It’s been more than two years since the city of North Charleston donated land to a nonprofit with the promise they would build affordable housing units but they remain empty as funding continues to be a barrier.

The four lots, located on Luella Avenue and Varner Lane in the Liberty Hill neighborhood, are now owned by The Charity Foundation. The nonprofit is associated with the Missionary Baptist Church and chaired by its pastor, the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III.

“The city was not willing to donate this when we started. It took a while, but we were persistent. I mean, if nothing else, I am that,” Rivers said.

The foundation focuses on four strategies: Relevance (STEM education), Readiness, Real Estate and Resources. The third strategy is to “develop safe, desirable and affordable housing to accommodate the growing workforce,” according to the executive summary provided to council in its proposal.

“I’m going through anxiety sometimes just thinking about how are you going to pay this? How this going to get paid?” North Charleston resident Tremella Smalls said.

Smalls spends an entire paycheck on rent in a place she’s unhappy with. Her experience is emblematic of Lowcountry locals displaced by a booming population and growing market demand for housing, one the nonprofit hopes to address.

Three years ago, her downtown apartment rent jumped nearly $600.

“Right now, I have to be here, ‘cause this is what I can afford,” she said.

For her, the promise of more affordable housing is huge.

“That would mean everything to me at this point,” she said. “You want to feel comfortable in your own home and at this point, sometimes I don’t.”

The Charity Foundation has already successfully completed two houses on city-donated property. One, on Mint Street, sold for less than what it cost to build. Another, on Lecque Street is rented to a person with “unique needs” for several hundred dollars less than the market rate.

“We’ve got this far and we plan to go to the rest of the way and it won’t take as long to go where we’re going as it took us to get where we are,” Rivers said.

Photo caption: The Community Foundation recently finished a single-family home on Leque Street that they rent to a person with “unique needs” at a lower rate than market value. It’s one of two affordable housing projects the group has completed (source: Live 5)

On September 16, 2021 the finance committee unanimously approved the donation of the land on Luella and Varner following the success on Mint street.

The city bought these for about $20,000 in the late 1990s.

In October 2021, city council voted 9-1 in favor of the decision to approve the land transfer.

The deeds were handed over in June and September 2022, respectively, with the foundation paying $10 for two plots and $0 for the other two.

According to the non-profit’s own pitch to the city, the timeline for construction was “[n]ot to exceed two years from the time the property is deeded.”

There was an initial reverter clause, according to city spokesperson Tony Tassarotti, but it was later changed after the non-profit reported to council it could not get bank financing with the clause in place.

“You’re going to make us overcome a bigger hurdle,” Rivers said.

The properties had once returned to the city’s possession after adonation to another non-profit that had a “similar initiative”, the Liberty Hill Improvement Council, but was unsuccessful.

“The deed has no clause. In fact, it says that the property is ours forever and forever is a long time. So, we have the same amount of time as anybody else that was developing property to develop,” Rivers said. “Our issue is always the same. The dollars, the money,” he added.

“In the past, whenever we had any lots that the city owned, the mayor deeded lots to whomever he wanted to, without a process. He gave it to folks who could actually create generational wealth by building homes in neighborhoods,” North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess explained at last Thursday’s council meeting.

“That’s exactly why we need a policy and procedures in place,” District 9 Councilman Kenny Skipper said.

The lack of guardrails is a concern for Skipper,who supported The Charity Foundation’s plans initially and ultimately voted in favor of the donation but expressed hesitation to grant a similar request in the 10-mile community by Fr33 Lunch Inc. this past Summer.

North Charleston has recently come under scrutiny for its partnerships with charities, even catching the FBI’s attention through its anti-gun-violence initiativewhere more than $1 million in taxpayer funds were donated to several non-profits, with little to no strings attached.

Skipper says he vaguely remembers the two year timeline regarding the Luella and Varner properties.

“It wasn’t defined and until we come up with a policy and a procedure, I wouldn’t support giving anybody any additional properties,” Skipper said.

The city’s executive office is now drafting a policy to specifically address property transfers, though the policy itself has not been discussed publicly.

“I would say that the city is moving in the right direction,” Skipper said. “I’m sure that we will tweak it and get the policy right and that way we’ll have the ability to move forward.”

City council formally denied Fr33 Lunch, Inc’s request at its last public meeting, citing community concerns and the ongoing work to produce the policy that Burgess explained would be completed “very soon.”

Though Burgess expressed his support for the policy, he stated the group had done its due diligence and shouldn’t be held to a standard that only began development in July, when the non-profit had approached him back in February.

He also explained there was a reverter clause in place and the group would be asked to sell, not rent, in the interest of creating generational wealth.

“If they do what we asked them to do and we’re checking the boxes, then we as a body should give them an opportunity, " he said.

Meanwhile, Rivers insists the empty lots of land are not an empty promise, but rather one that is taking longer to realize.

He says they are in talks with various groups, including financial institutions, to come up with the $1.2 million estimated to build 6 total units.

“I would hope by the end of ’24 we will know when we can start something in ’25, but all depends on these many conversations bearing fruit,” Rivers said.

The Charity Foundation says it is eyeing more property but of the more than 200 properties the city currently owns Tasserotti says none are available for donation at the moment.

On the contrary, Burgess stated they estimated they had 12 to 15 lots in residential homes.

“It doesn’t make any sense for us to talk about affordable, attainable, workforce, and senior homes when we have lots that are wide open and we don’t have anyone to develop them. We’ve got to develop them if we want people to live in them,” Burgess said.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs is set to hold webinars and shred events to encourage cybersecurity, and one will be in North Charleston.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and SCDCA will hold three free webinars to help improve cyber safety and online scams.

There are three free events for all consumers to shred sensitive documents.

The shred event is set up as a drive-through if consumers want to shred documents quickly.

They will also hold two webinars to help educate businesses to protect private and confidential information.

Several topics will covered during the months including multi-factor authentication, strong passwords and [asswors managers, updating software and phishing.

Webinars for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Click the title links below to register for a webinar:

Free Shred Events

SCDCA is partnering with Shred360 to offer the following free events:

People who are attending are encouraged to stay in their vehicles and will be limited to (3) three boxes or (3) three kitchen/trash bags per vehicle.

SCDCA says all webinars and shred events are free to attend. Attendees are encouraged to download the SCDCA’s “Cybersecurity Basics” flyer or request physical copies by filling out the Brochure Order Form.

Follow SCDCA’s Facebook and X accounts for cybersecurity tips throughout October.

Sign up with the link in the Big Red Box for the first cybersecurity webinar Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 10:30 a.m. or click here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The local music festival founded by Lowcountry native and Grammy award winner Darius Rucker runs through the weekend.

Scotty traveled from out of town to attend this weekend’s festival excited to see some of his favorite bands, Arrested Development and Hootie and the Blowfish.

“I’m here to tell you I brought down the love and I’ve been getting back ever since we’ve been here Wednesday Charleston has treated us with nothing but love and respect, you have some of the nicest people the best food and you’ve got to watch out for the cocktails. We’re excited about the festival its going to be a great time I heard its family oriented so we’re looking for a great crowd and an awesome experience,” said Scotty, a festival goer.

Festival goers were excited for more than just the headlining acts.

“The revivalist is our favorite band my wife and I wedding song was wish I knew you and I’ve always wanted to see the destiny trucks band,” said Luke who is attending the festival.

Festival goers came from all over bringing their family and friends to the event. Some were coming to the festival for the first time and others had been going for a few years.

“It’s a great festival. It’s on the water in a historic yard its been around here along time I love that they’re keeping it alive,” said Patrick, a festival goer.

Some of the headliners tonight included Teredschi Trucks band, Jamey Johnson, Collective Soul and of course, the festival will finish off with Hootie and the Blowfish.

“Awesome time, good music I know Darius Rucker, he’s the man, nicest guy in the world I met him before in the airport, coolest guy ever..”

Proceeds from the festival will go to MUSC’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and some tickets are still available.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.

Many teams in the ECHL have long been committed to serving their communities. It’s a chance for fans to connect with the team, and it allows players, coaches and staff to promote hockey in a direct way.

On Wednesday, the South Carolina Stingrays held a special Community Night at the Community Resource Center (CRC). Three Stingrays players—Micah Miller, Kyler Kupka, and Reilly Webb—volunteered their time to play street hockey with local kids, sign autographs, and share their love of the game.

The event provided an unforgettable experience for children in the community while introducing them to hockey.

In addition to street hockey games, the kids were also gifted with team merchandise, creating an opportunity for young fans to connect with the players and learn more about the sport. ServiceMaster of Charleston, a Stingrays corporate partner, provided free ice cream for all attendees, making the night an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

Louis Smith, Executive Director of the Community Resource Center, highlighted the event's impact on the children and the broader community.

“This event benefits these kids for several reasons,” Smith said. “It introduces them to a new sport, it inspires them to study and look at hockey, and it also brings a cultural thing to these young kids.”

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For the Stingrays players, the experience was equally rewarding. Miller reflected on the importance of connecting with local kids.

“I’d say the most fun part was just getting to know the kids,” Miller said. “A lot of them don’t know a ton about hockey, but I feel like we kind of sparked an interest for them, and they seemed to really enjoy it.”

Kupka echoed this sentiment, adding, “I loved seeing how much fun the kids had, getting outside with them, and playing some street hockey. They were loving it.”

Webb also noted the joy that the children brought to the event.

“The kids all had fun outside playing hockey, and they all had smiles on their faces,” Webb said. “That’s what I loved about it.”

The Stingrays are proud to work with local organizations like the Community Resource Center, give back to the fans who support them, and encourage a new generation of hockey fans.