Navy F/A-18 crashes in California, pilot ejected safely

Octotber 20. 2020

Navy F/A-18 crashes in California, pilot ejected safely

A Navy F/A-18E fighter jet crashed in California on Tuesday, but the pilot was able to eject safely, according to a Navy spokesman.

a plane flying in the air: A U.S. F/A-18 Super Horne takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, July 14, 2015,.© Cpl. Darien Bjorndal/US Marine Corps A U.S. F/A-18 Super Horne takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, July 14, 2015,. "An F/A-18E Super Hornet from Naval Air Station Lemoore experienced a mishap at approximately 10:10 a.m. today during a routine training flight near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake," Cmdr. Zachary Harrell, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces, said Tuesday.

Lemoore is an inland airbase located in California's Central Valley.

"The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a local medical facility for examination," said Harrell.

Harrell told ABC News that the pilot was in good and stable condition.

a plane flying in the air: A U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, July 14, 2015,.© Cpl. Darien Bjorndal/US Marine Corps A U.S. F/A-18 Super Horne takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, July 14, 2015,.

The F/A-18 crashed in eastern Kern County, near Highway 178 and 14, according to KERO, an ABC affiliate.

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Harrell said the plane crashed in an open field and that local authorities were notified of the crash at 10:20 a.m. PT.

Lt. Joel Swanson, the spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff's Department, told the Bakersfield Californian that deputies and the Kern County Fire Department responded to the scene.