A US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet crashed near the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California on Friday while attempting to land.
The Marine Corps said the pilot, who was the only person onboard, successfully ejected from the aircraft moments before it crashed.
The pilot was later taken to a nearby hospital and was reported to be in stable condition with minor injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Footage from the crash site showed thick black smoke rising from an open area as firefighters and military personnel rushed to extinguish the flames.
The fire from the crash also spread to nearby vegetation before it was brought under control by emergency teams.
According to information obtained by ABC News, the aircraft was approaching the runway at around 10am local time before crashing several metres away from the airfield.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation, although early reports suggested the aircraft may have been conducting a routine training flight, which is commonly carried out at the base.
The Marine Corps classified the incident as a “Class A Mishap”, the most serious category in the US military, involving damages exceeding US$2 million (around RM8.1 million), destruction of an aircraft or loss of life.
The F-35B is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft equipped with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, allowing it to operate from amphibious assault ships and bases with limited runway space.
Each F-35B aircraft is estimated to cost around US$109 million (approximately RM445 million).
A 2024 analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that the US military operates more than 630 F-35 aircraft across the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, while the overall F-35 programme is estimated to cost nearly US$2 trillion (around RM8.1 trillion).
Data from the Air Force Safety Center showed that at least 17 Class A accidents involving F-35 aircraft have been recorded since the programme began, while the Aviation Safety Network reported several military aircraft accidents in the United States in recent years.
