A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II crashed on Friday morning near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, in a Class A mishap, the military’s most serious aviation accident category. The pilot ejected safely, was recovered and taken to a medical facility, while emergency crews responded to a small vegetation fire near the wreckage in the flightline area.
The aircraft was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11 under 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. One report described the pilot’s condition as stable with non-life-threatening injuries. The cause remains under investigation, and officials have not yet released a detailed account of what led to the crash.
The loss involves a frontline stealth fighter used by the Marine Corps for expeditionary operations and short take-off and vertical landing missions. Early reports did not specify the extent of damage to the aircraft beyond the crash itself, and no further injury details were available at the time of reporting.