A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron-533 sits idle on the flightline during Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 5-19 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California on Aug. 4, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo
A Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet flying from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., crashed late Thursday night, service officials confirmed to USNI News.
Fire and rescue crews are on the scene and the status of the aircrew is unknown. The “D” variant of the Hornet has two seats, but it’s unclear how many people were aboard, a defense official told USNI News on Friday morning.
The two-seater Hornet crashed near the I-15 highway east of the Southern California airbase shortly before midnight. The aircraft was operating from Miramar but is an East Coast-based unit, the official told USNI News.
“We are aware of an accident involving an F/A-18 Hornet in the vicinity of MCAS Miramar at 11:54 P.M. PST,” MCAS Miramar said in a Friday statement.
“This aircraft is not part of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing but was operating out of MCAS Miramar. The crash site is on government property east of the air station and there are no indications of damage to property on the ground.”
The aging F-/A-18 Hornet line is part of the Marines’ contribution to the Navy carrier air wing structure and is getting replaced across the service with the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.