A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet crashed on Friday afternoon around Trona, Calif., killing the pilot, the Navy confirmed in a statement to American Military News.
The jet was based at Naval Air Station Lemoore and crashed at around 2:30 pm PDT. It’s not yet clear what caused the crash.
No other service members or civilians were injured in the crash.
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Federal Firefighters and Naval Security Forces responded to the scene.
The identity of the pilot is withheld for 24 hours until after the next-of-kin notification is made.
Trona is a community in the Mohave Desert, located approximately 230 miles southeast of NAS Lemoore.
The crash comes one day after a Sailor at NAS Lemoore was injured while conducting routine maintenance on an F-35C Lightning II fighter jet.
The Sailor was treated on scene before being airlifted to a hospital in Fresno. The Sailor was reported to be in critical but stable condition.
