Marine Corps says F-35B stealth fighter crashed in California, pilot
ejected safely
[August 01, 2026]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps says the pilot of an F-35B
stealth fighter is expected to live after ejecting from the jet before
it crashed in California.
The jet went down Friday near the Miramar air base in San Diego. “The
pilot ejected, was transported to a local medical facility in stable
condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening
injuries,” the Marine Corps said in an updated statement.
Aerial video from a news helicopter showed a plume of black smoke rising
from the wreckage in a dirt field, with multiple military and
firefighting vehicles and people standing nearby. What appeared to be
white flame retardant covered the ground, and at least one person was
spraying the wreckage with a fire hose.
Wade Lott saw the crash as he drove to work at a concrete company just
south of the flight line.
“It just blew up, it was crazy,” said Lott, 36, who watched from his
truck as two jets descended toward the runway together. The first landed
without incident, but the second suddenly began slowing down, almost as
if it were trying to hover, Lott said. When the jet was about 100 feet
(30 m) above the ground, the pilot ejected and their parachute deployed
as they rose about 200 feet (61 m) into the air just in time.
“The jet hit the ground right next to another plane,” said Lott. “It
plowed into the runway and just blew up.”
Candace Hadley, a spokesperson for San Diego Fire, said firefighters
were on scene to respond to a vegetation fire that sparked near the
crash site. She referred additional questions to Marine Corps Air
Station Miramar.
The base used to host the Navy fighter pilot training school depicted in
the original “Top Gun” movie, and was known as “Fightertown USA” in its
heyday. The school was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada
in 1996 after the base was transferred to the Marine Corps.
The U.S. Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force together have more than 630
F-35s, according to a 2024 analysis by the Government Accounting Office.
The F-35B is one of several versions, and has an engine designed for
short takeoffs and vertical landings. A single F-35B costs about $109
million. The report estimated that the overall F-35 program will cost
roughly $2 trillion after the military buys more than 1,800 more jets
and operates them for decades to come.
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Crews extinguish an F-35 fighter jet that crashed near the runway at
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., on Friday,
July 31, 2026 (Luke Johnson/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)
A Marines statement called Friday’s crash a “Class A mishap.” That’s
the most severe mishap category, used when the damage totals more
than $2 million, an aircraft is destroyed or a service member
killed. In the Air Force alone, there have been at least 17 other
“Class A mishaps” involving F-35 aircraft since 2000, according to
Air Force Safety Center statistics.
At least seven other military aircraft mishaps have happened in the
U.S. this year, according to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation
Safety Network database.
The F-35s are considered the safest and most capable fighter jets
the military has in its fleet, according to the Lexington Institute
think tank that focuses on defense technology and national security.
There have been fewer crashes involving any of the F-35 models since
the jet was adopted in 2015 compared to other fighters when those
planes were new, and fatal crashes are rare in F-35s.
In five F-35 crashes, the pilots were able to eject, though at least
one sustained injuries. That pilot was injured when an F-35 crashed
near the international airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May
2024. The jet was heading an Air Force base in California from
Texas.
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