A Navy pilot was killed Friday in a Super Hornet fighter jet crash in a California desert, reported the Navy Times.
The jet, which was based out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, crashed at about 2:30 p.m. near Trona, in San Bernardino County. Nobody on the ground was hurt. The pilot’s identity and details of the crash weren’t immediately released.
Last October, another Navy Super Hornet went down during a training mission in Death Valley National Park, but the pilot safely ejected. However, a 2019 Super Hornet crash in the park killed the pilot and injured seven people on the ground.
The F/A-18E Super Hornet is the same type of jet that the Navy Blue Angels fly.
Lemoore is home to Commander Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and Commander Joint Strike Fighter Wing and hosts 16 operational Strike Fighter squadrons, according to its website.
In 2019, a Navy Super Hornet crashed in Death Valley National Park during a routine training mission, killing the pilot and slightly injuring seven park visitors who were struck by debris. They had gathered at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.
Last October, a Navy Super Hornet from Naval Air Station China Lake also crashed, and in 2020 another from Lemoore went down — both during training missions. The pilots safely ejected, one in a remote southern area of Death Valley National Park near the Nevada border and the other in the Mojave Desert.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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