F-35 Crashes Near San Diego Marine Base, Pilot Ejects and Survives

An F-35 fighter jet crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, sparking a fire on the ground. The pilot ejected and was recovered alive, a Marine Corps spokesperson said, and was taken to a medical facility. What caused the crash is not yet clear.

Aerial images showed the aircraft on its belly in what appeared to be an open field on the base, smoke rising from the fuselage and the canopy hatch open. Other pictures showed a cluster of emergency vehicles and responders converging on the site. Footage shot from a helicopter operated by CBS affiliate KFMB-TV showed crews working to knock the fire down, and the CBS News Confirmed team verified social media video showing a plume of black smoke coming off the plane as responders sprayed it with fire retardant.

The Marine Corps has not released the pilot's name. In a statement, the service said the pilot was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Miramar sits about 10 miles north of downtown San Diego and is home to more than 15,000 Marines, sailors and civilian employees. It serves as headquarters for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the Corps' West Coast air arm.

It is not the first fatal or near-fatal accident tied to the base. In 2023, a Marine Corps pilot died after ejecting from an F/A-18 Hornet near Miramar. He was the only person aboard, and the aircraft went down on government property just before midnight local time. After an hourslong search, the pilot was found dead. He was later identified as Maj. Andrew Mettler.

The F-35 is flown by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and each aircraft costs roughly $100 million. Several high-profile losses in recent years have drawn scrutiny to the program. In July 2025, a pilot ejected from an F-35 in California's Fresno County; the crash started a small grass fire, and the pilot was recovered safely. In January 2025, an Air Force pilot flying a training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska declared an in-flight emergency, and video reviewed by CBS News showed the jet spinning toward the ground and exploding on impact. That pilot ejected and parachuted down safely.

The strangest of the recent incidents came in 2024, when a Marine Corps pilot ejected from an F-35 during a heavy rainstorm after a cascade of technical malfunctions. The jet kept flying without him for more than 11 minutes and roughly 70 miles before crashing and damaging private property. The pilot came down in a driveway and called 911 himself. Searchers did not locate the wreckage until the following day, and an investigation later concluded the pilot had acted improperly in ejecting.

An investigation into Friday's crash at Miramar is expected. The Marine Corps did not say whether the aircraft was on a training flight or how much of the jet survived the fire.