TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — The pilot of a Marine Corps jet fighter that crashed and burned in the Southern California desert safely ejected, a spokesman said.
The twin-engine F/A-18C Hornet crashed around 6 p.m. Tuesday near the end of a training flight at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.
“Initial reports say that he had touched down and after he touched down, he needed to eject,” said 1st Lt. John P. Roberts, a Marine spokesman. The Hornet was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 31 from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina, Roberts said.
The aircraft burned, Roberts said.
There was no immediate word on what caused the crash.
The pilot appeared to have no major injuries, but he was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Roberts said. “He’s OK and doing well right now,” he said.
Twentynine Palms is about 140 miles east of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert. The center trains pilots from around the country.