🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
A U.S. Navy pilot has been confirmed dead following a jet fighter crash in the Mojave Desert in Southern California on Friday, and the incident is currently subject to an investigation.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near Trona, California at around 2.30p.m P.D.T. (5.30p.m. E.T.) and the Navy reported the death in a brief news release that did not identify the deceased pilot.
The pilot's identity will only be released 24 hours after their next of kin have been informed, the Navy's statement said.
No civilians were harmed as a result of the crash.
The Navy said Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Federal Firefighters and Naval Security Forces attended the scene of the crash.
The Super Hornet was operating out of Naval Air Station Lemoore where the Commander Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and Commander Joint Strike Fighter Wing are based.
Naval Air Station Lemoore has 16 operational Strike Fighter squadrons.
The cause of the crash is now the subject of an investigation and no details are currently known about the incident.
Trona is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County in the Mojave Desert, located about 236 miles southeast of the naval air station.
This is not the first time a Super Hornet has crashed in California. One crash occurred last year, and another in 2020 during training missions, and both pilots were able to safely eject from the planes.
A pilot was killed as a result of a crash in Death Valley National Park in 2019 while participating in a training exercise. Seven visitors to the park were also slightly injured by debris from the crash.
In a separate incident on Friday, a Naval Special Warfare sailor was killed and four others injured following a traffic accident in Coronado, California that took place as the individuals were returning from training at Camp Billy Machen in Niland, California.
The name of the deceased will also not be released until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified, while the names of those injured are also being withheld at this time. The sailor was pronounced dead at the scene and the four others were taken for treatment in local hospitals.
"Two Sailors are in critical condition and two Sailors are in stable condition," the Navy said in a statement. "The Sailors are all assigned to West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare units."
The statement also noted that the California Highway Patrol was investigating the cause of the incident that "resulted in the tragic loss of a teammate."
Newsweek has asked the Department of Defense for comment.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more