F-35B Crashes Near Miramar Air Base in California, Pilot Ejects Safely
An F-35B stealth fighter crashed Friday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, after the pilot ejected and survived. The Marine Corps
An F-35B stealth fighter crashed Friday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, after the pilot ejected and survived. The Marine Corps said the aviator was taken to a local medical facility in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash sent up a thick column of black smoke over a dirt field near the base. A news helicopter captured military and firefighting vehicles clustered around the wreckage, with white flame retardant spread across the ground and at least one responder hosing down the remains.
Smoke, flame retardant and a fire crew response
San Diego Fire spokesperson Candace Hadley said firefighters were on scene to deal with a vegetation fire that broke out near the crash site. She referred further questions to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The aircraft went down close to the Miramar airbase, a long-established military aviation hub in southern California. The base sits near dense urban areas, and crashes or emergency landings there tend to draw fast response from both military crews and local emergency services. Not this time.
The sight on the ground was stark. Black smoke. White suppressant. Metal in a dirt field.
Pilot seen ejecting near the runway
One witness, Wade Lott, said he saw the jet while driving to work at a concrete company just south of the flight line. He said two jets were descending together toward the runway, with the first landing normally and the second slowing suddenly as if it were trying to hover.
Lott said the pilot ejected when the aircraft was about 100 feet above the ground, and the parachute deployed as the jet came down. “It just blew up, it was crazy,” he said.
The Marine Corps has not released a cause for the crash. The F-35B is a stealth fighter used by the US military and operated by the Marine Corps in this variant. Friday’s incident adds another high-profile crash to the aircraft’s safety record, and investigators are likely to examine what happened in the moments before the ejection. For now, the immediate concern has shifted from the aircraft to the pilot’s recovery.
“The pilot ejected, was transported to a local medical facility in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” the Marine Corps said.
