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Japanese Fighter Jet Crashes in Pacific; Pilot Remains Missing


The U.S. Marine Corps version of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flies over the Atlantic test range at Patuxent River Naval Air Systems Command in Maryland in a Feb. 22, 2012 photo.
The U.S. Marine Corps version of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flies over the Atlantic test range at Patuxent River Naval Air Systems Command in Maryland in a Feb. 22, 2012 photo.

The search continues for the pilot of a Japanese fighter jet that crashed in Pacific Ocean Tuesday night.

Search and rescue crews found the wreckage of the F-35 stealth fighter jet hours after it disappeared from radar screens. The single-seat plane vanished just a half-hour after taking off from Misawa Air Base off the eastern coast of Aomori on a training mission with three other planes.

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the remaining 12 F-35 jets stationed at Misawa have been grounded.

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