Navy F/A-18 crashes in California, pilot ejected safely

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 WKXA

cr8it/iStockBy LUIS MARTINEZ, ABC News

(CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif.) — A Navy F/A-18E fighter jet crashed in California on Tuesday, but the pilot was able to eject safely, according to a Navy spokesman.

“An F/A-18E Super Hornet from Naval Air Station Lemoore experienced a mishap at approximately 10:10 a.m. today during a routine training flight near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,” Cmdr. Zachary Harrell, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces, said Tuesday.

Lemoore is an inland airbase located in California’s Central Valley.

“The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a local medical facility for examination,” said Harrell.

Harrell told ABC News that the pilot was in good and stable condition.

The F/A-18 crashed in eastern Kern County, near Highway 178 and 14, according to KERO, an ABC affiliate.

Harrell said the plane crashed in an open field and that local authorities were notified of the crash at 10:20 a.m. PT.

Lt. Joel Swanson, the spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, told the Bakersfield Californian that deputies and the Kern County Fire Department responded to the scene.