I'm sorry, what happened?

I saw this and assumed it was just a humorous spoof.  

This 911 call from the F-35 pilot is wild… pic.twitter.com/NMOSl8Mnf0

— @amuse (@amuse) September 22, 2023

Having watched and laughed, my thought was:

We are in epistemic trouble when we see something we really want to be true but know it almost certainly is not.  And the internet is full of stuff we want to be true, presented in ways that convince us is true.  When it is not.

But this purported 911 call from the F-35 pilot who ejected over South Carolina earlier this week is simply a classic.  I know it being on NBC is not dispositive to it being a spoof, but it increases the probability that it is real.

And I love the three cultural languages being spoken.  I hear perhaps an Indian immigrant with a very polite and accommodating demeanor.  After all, he did just greet a military pilot who crash landed in his backyard.  He is talking to a sweet voiced South Carolina lady who is trying to make sense of a scenario not quite anticipated in any of her 911 call center scripts.  And in the background there is the command presence voice of the pilot who sounds like he may have wrenched his back but is communicating in a here-are-the-facts manner, clear and forthright, but still not cutting through the fog of a confused call.

911:  I'm sorry, what happened? 

[snip]

911:  How far did he fall?

Pilot:  I was at 2,000 feet.

911:  What caused the fall?

Pilot:  Uh, aircraft failure.

Everyone is doing their best to do the right thing but the whole process just wasn't designed for this particular scenario.