The pilot managed to eject before the plane went down and has been taken to a medical facility
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 3:29am, 1 Aug 2026The US Marine Corps says the pilot of an F-35B stealth fighter ejected before the jet crashed in California, and was taken to a medical facility.
The jet went down on Friday afternoon near the Miramar airbase in San Diego. A Marines statement called it a “Class A mishap”.
That is the most severe mishap category, used when the damage totals more than US$2 million, an aircraft is destroyed or a service member killed.
A single F-35B fighter jet costs about US$109 million. The statement did not include any details about the condition of the pilot, other than to say they ejected, were recovered and were being taken to a medical facility.
Aerial video from a news helicopter showed a plume of black smoke rising from the wreckage in a dirt field, with multiple military and firefighting vehicles and people standing nearby.
What appeared to be white flame retardant covered the ground, and at least one person was spraying the wreckage with a fire hose.
