An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed near Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25th.
According to the Press-Enterprise, the pilot ejected safely and is without major injuries.
“The pilot ejected,” said Marine spokesman First Lt. John P. Roberts. “There are no injuries, based on the reports we have right now. They were going to take him to a hospital…as a precaution.”
The crash reportedly happened while the pilot was landing the aircraft, according to the news piece.
“The intial reports were that he’d already touched down,” Roberts said.
Several accidents involving the F/A-18 Hornet have taken place recently. Just three months earlier, Marine Major Richard Norton died in a crash near 29 Palms on July 27th.
The aircraft that crashed on Tuesday was based out of Miramar, as was the aircraft that killed Major Norton.
Earlier this August, a Hornet flown by a Marine pilot crashed in Nevada where the pilot safely ejected. A Blue Angels pilot flying a Hornet was killed in June.
In the wake of the three Hornet crashes in June thru August, the Marine Corps put a hold on Hornet flights. There is not information yet if the Marine Corps plans to ground the plane in the future.
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