F-35 fighter jet crashes at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

F-35 fighter jet crashes at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

A United States Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter crashed and erupted into flames at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday. The single-seat aircraft, assigned to the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Aircraft Group 11, went down short of the runway at approximately 10 a.m. PT.

The pilot ejected from the aircraft and was transported to a local medical facility. According to a statement from the wing, the pilot is in stable condition for the treatment and evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene during the final moments of the flight. Wade Lott, who was commuting to a concrete company south of the flight line, reported seeing two aircraft approaching the runway in tandem. While the lead jet landed safely, Lott said the trailing aircraft appeared to decelerate as if attempting to hover. When the jet was roughly 100 feet off the ground, the pilot ejected, ascending approximately 200 feet into the air before the aircraft plowed into the runway and exploded.

Air traffic control audio recorded by LiveATC.net captured the tower informing firefighters of an F-35 short final crash, noting that the parachute appeared to deploy and the pilot had ejected. On the ground, airport fire crews utilized firefighting foam to extinguish the wreckage and a surrounding grass fire. Candace Hadley, a spokesperson for San Diego Fire, confirmed that personnel responded to a vegetation fire ignited near the crash site.

The military has designated the incident as a Class A Mishap. This is the most severe classification, used when a service member is killed, the aircraft is destroyed, or damages exceed $2 million.

The crash occurred at a facility historically nicknamed Fightertown USA due to its role as the Navy fighter pilot training school featured in the film "Top Gun." That school moved to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada in 1996, at which point the base transferred to Marine Corps control. The site has seen previous accidents, including a late August 2023 crash of an F/A-18 Hornet east of the base that resulted in the death of the pilot.

The F-35B is a short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the fifth-generation fighter, designed to operate from austere forward bases and U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships. It is operated by the USMC, the Italian Air Force, and the United Kingdom. While the manufacturer bills the jet as the most advanced in the world, it carries a high price tag; one source lists the cost at about $102 million, while others cite approximately $109 million per unit.

This event is the latest in a series of recent F-35 mishaps. Four months prior, a U.S. Air Force F-35A crashed at the Nevada Test and Training Range. Additionally, an F-35 recently made an emergency landing at an undisclosed base in the Middle East after taking ground fire during a sortie over Iran as part of Operation Urgent Fury.

Broadly, the F-35 program is vast. A 2024 Government Accounting Office analysis indicates that the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps collectively operate more than 630 F-35s. The analysis projects total program costs will reach around $2 trillion once the military acquires more than 1,800 additional jets and maintains them throughout their operational lives.

Despite the Miramar crash, some data suggests the F-35's safety record is strong relative to other fighters. There have been around 15 losses out of more than 1,340 aircraft built globally. By comparison, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has seen more than 750 crashes. Similarly, Russia's Su-57 has lost at least two aircraft since December 2019, a higher loss ratio given that only about 30 are in service.

Historical losses for the F-35 include the first crash on September 28, 2018, near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. Another loss occurred over North Charleston, South Carolina, where a jet flew for 11 minutes after a malfunction before crashing in Williamsburg County. The first aviator killed in an F-35 mishap was a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force pilot whose aircraft crashed during a training flight from Misawa Air Base due to spatial disorientation.

The cause of the Miramar crash is not immediately clear. Unlike civilian accidents, which are handled by the National Transportation Safety Board, military crashes are investigated by the military. The Marine Corps stated that more information will be released when available.