Yakima County Sheriff’s Office bodycam footage has revealed the aftermath of a U.S. Marine F/A-18 Hornet crash near Rimrock Lake in Washington state. The video shows the pilot moments after ejecting from the jet, which went down on a mountainside during routine low-level training in June and destroyed the aircraft.
The pilot, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11 under the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, appears bloodied but able to walk and speak with deputies. He uses a phone to report the crash and describes circling over the lake before ejecting, while deputies coordinate the response. The Marine Corps classified the event as a non-fatal aviation mishap, and the cause remains under investigation.
The crash site is in rugged terrain in Yakima County, about 55 miles southeast of Seattle, where the impact sparked a wildfire that was later brought under control. Reports indicate the pilot suffered minor facial lacerations and that no fatalities were recorded on the ground. The public release of the footage offers an uncommon look at both the immediate post-ejection condition of a military aviator and the local law-enforcement response to a fighter-jet crash.