Smoke rises from a crashed F-35 jet in a field near Naval Air Station Lemoore.
A U.S. F-35 fighter aircraft crashed on Thursday night in an open field south of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Social media videos captured thick plumes of smoke rising where the aircraft went down.
CNN verified the plane used was an F-35 jet, according to a Navy press release. Fire and rescue personnel reacted quickly to the accident site after they received reports of the crash around 6:30 p.m. local time. "The pilot ejected safely," CNN stated, as per Navy officials.
The aircraft was part of Strike Fighter Squadron VF-125, or the 'Rough Raiders', a Fleet Replacement Squadron that conducts training of Navy pilots and aircrew.
Naval Air Station Lemoore is situated about 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the southwest of Fresno, in the heart of California. The reason for the crash is still being investigated, as per official reports.
Russian Television previously reported speculatively that the crashed plane was probably an F-35 based on initial imagery, a report later confirmed by U.S. Navy officials.
In a separate accident, a twin-engine Beech 95-B55 Baron plane crashed off Point Pinos on July 28. The three-person plane took off from San Carlos Airport at 10:11 p.m. and was last seen near Monterey at 10:37 p.m., according to FlightAware.com.
Rescue squads pulled one of them out by 3 a.m. while divers found the remaining two inside the plane between 6:30 and 9:15 a.m. The three were all unresponsive, confirmed the Coast Guard.
