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| US Air Force F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fighter Jet Crashes |
International Military - A United States Navy (US) F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet crashed on Friday afternoon in the Mojave Desert. The crash killed the pilot. The fighter jet that crashed was based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. It crashed at around 2:30 p.m. local time near Trona, in San Bernardino County.
Naval Security Forces rushed to the scene, as did firefighters based at China Lake's Naval Air Weapons Station. The US Navy has not released the identity of the pilot who died. The cause of the accident is still being investigated.
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The Naval Air Station Lemoore is home to the Commander Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and Commander Joint Strike Fighter Wing and houses 16 operational Strike Fighter squadrons.
This is not the first time that an accident involving an F/A-18E Super Hornet has happened. In 2019, a US Navy-style fighter jet crashed in Death Valley National Park during a routine training mission, killing the pilot and injuring seven park visitors who were hit by debris.
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At that time, visitors flocked to a beautiful scene where aviation enthusiasts watched military pilots go low through the abyss called Star Wars Canyon.
Then in October 2021, a Navy Super Hornet fighter jet from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake also crashed, and in 2020 another similar fighter jet from Naval Air Station Lemoore crashed, both during a training mission.