A US Marine Corps pilot survived an ejection moments before an F-35B crashed and caught fire near the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The July 31, 2026, crash involved an F-35B assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, according to the Marine Corps. Emergency crews responded at around 10:00 local time.
The pilot, the only person aboard, was taken to a local medical facility in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The Marine Corps has not identified the pilot or disclosed further details about the injuries.
A witness told the Associated Press that two jets were descending toward the runway when the second aircraft began slowing, almost as though it were preparing to hover.
The witness estimated that the pilot ejected at about 100 feet above the ground. The parachute deployed before the aircraft struck the ground and exploded near the runway. The Marine Corps has not confirmed the aircraft’s altitude, flight profile or whether it was conducting a short takeoff and vertical landing maneuver.
Video and photographs from the scene showed heavily burned wreckage in a dirt area beside the runway. The crash also ignited a small fire, which firefighters quickly brought under control. No injuries on the ground were reported.
The Marine Corps classified the accident as a Class A mishap, its most serious category. That designation includes accidents involving a destroyed aircraft, a fatality or more than $2 million in damage.
The single-engine F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. A shaft-driven lift fan mounted behind the cockpit works with the aircraft’s swiveling engine exhaust nozzle to allow vertical landings and operations from amphibious assault ships and short runways.
The Marine Corps operates the F-35B from land bases and ships, while the United Kingdom and Italy also fly the variant.
The Miramar accident follows the March 31, 2026, loss of a US Air Force F-35 during a training flight in Nevada. That pilot also ejected and survived.