Pilot ejects before F-35B fighter jet crashes near Miramar Air Base
- A US Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet crashed near San Diego‘s Miramar Air Base on Friday morning, with the pilot successfully ejecting before impact.
- The pilot was rushed to a hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Marine Corps, which classified the crash as a “Class A mishap.”
- The advanced F-35B jet, valued at approximately $109 million, is a variant designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings, utilized by the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.
- A witness described seeing the aircraft fly over Interstate 15 with its cockpit open before crashing in a “big fireball” and observed a parachute carrying the ejected pilot.
- The crash occurred near the flight line of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, a base historically known as “Fightertown USA” for previously hosting the Navy fighter pilot training school.
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