The incident occurred on Friday (July 31) close to the Miramar air base in San Diego. “The pilot ejected and was taken to a local medical facility in stable condition for assessment and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” stated the Marine Corps in an updated announcement.
Aerial footage from a news helicopter captured a plume of black smoke billowing from the wreckage situated in a dirt field, surrounded by numerous military and firefighting vehicles, with bystanders observing. It appeared that white flame retardant was spread across the ground, and at least one person was seen dousing the wreckage with a fire hose.
Wade Lott witnessed the crash while commuting to his job at a concrete company located just south of the flight path.
“It just blew up; it was insane,” remarked Lott, 36, who observed from his truck as two jets flew towards the runway simultaneously.
The first jet landed without issue, but the second unexpectedly started to decelerate, almost as if attempting to hover, according to Lott. When the aircraft was approximately 100 feet (30 m) above the ground, the pilot ejected, and their parachute opened as they ascended about 200 feet (61 m) into the air just in time.
“The jet crashed right next to another aircraft,” Lott recounted. “It slammed into the runway and exploded.” Candace Hadley, a spokesperson for San Diego Fire, stated that firefighters were present to respond to a vegetation fire ignited near the crash site and directed further inquiries to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The base previously hosted the Navy fighter pilot training school featured in the original “Top Gun” film and was famously known as “Fightertown USA” during its peak. The training school was moved to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada in 1996 after the base transitioned to Marine Corps control.
According to a 2024 analysis by the Government Accountability Office, the US Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force collectively operate over 630 F-35s. The F-35B is one of several variants, equipped with an engine optimized for short takeoffs and vertical landings.
Each F-35B has a price tag of around USD 109 million. The report projected that the total F-35 program could cost about USD 2 trillion as the military plans to procure more than 1,800 additional jets and maintain them for decades.
A statement from the Marine Corps labeled Friday’s incident a “Class A mishap,” which is the most serious category designated for incidents that result in damage exceeding USD 2 million, destruction of an aircraft, or loss of life. In the Air Force alone, there have been at least 17 other “Class A mishaps” involving F-35 aircraft since the year 2000, as per statistics from the Air Force Safety Centre.
So far this year, the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network database has recorded at least seven other military aircraft incidents within the US.
The F-35s are regarded as the safest and most advanced fighter jets in the military’s inventory, according to the Lexington Institute, which specializes in defense technology and national security.
Fewer crashes have been reported involving any F-35 models since the aircraft was introduced in 2015 compared to other fighters during their early operational years, and fatal incidents remain uncommon among F-35s.
In five F-35 crashes, pilots successfully ejected, although at least one suffered injuries. That pilot was hurt in an F-35 incident near the international airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May 2024, while the jet was en route to an Air Force base in California from Texas.
