A U.S. Navy stealth fighter pilot was forced to eject from a $100 million F-35C Lightning II jet moments before the plane slammed into a California cotton field, say officials.
Plumes of black smoke were seen blowing across a field at around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, after Fresno County officials said they received a report of a military jet “engulfed in flames.”
Deputies, firefighters, and California Highway Patrol officers located the wreckage 40 miles out from the city of Fresno and just north of Lemoore Naval Air Station.
The pilot was found with a parachute in a nearby field after he was forced to eject from the aircraft. He is attached to the squadron known as the VFA-125 “Rough Raiders,” Fresno officials said.
He was airlifted to a local hospital by helicopter and is expected to recover.
“At night, firefighters used a bulldozer to cut a path to the jet so fire engines could get close enough to extinguish the fire,” FCSO said.
Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes owns the field where the jet crashed.
Mendes told ABC News, his son alerted him to the crash, “I got a call from one of my sons at about 6:50 – that 'hey, I think there's a plane crash in our field, I'm gonna go out there and see.’
“I was in my pajamas, so I put my clothes back on and came this way," Mendes added.
The F-35C is one of three variants of the F-35 Lightning II, designed for use on U.S. aircraft carriers. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the craft is deemed “the most lethal, survivable, and connected fighter aircraft for America and its allies.”
The jet is priced at around $100 million and was the second F-35 to crash this year, according to reports from CNN. In January, an Air Force F-35A crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska during a training mission. The pilot also ejected safely in that incident.
A military investigation is now underway to try to determine the cause of the crash.
The pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel,” a statement to Reuters from NAS Lemoore read.
Lockheed Martin provided a statement on the incident Wednesday: “We are aware of the F-35 incident at Naval Air Station Lemoore.”
“Safety is our priority, and we are standing by to support the United States Navy as needed. Further questions are best addressed by U.S. Navy or Naval Air Station Lemoore Public Affairs,” they added.
The Independent contacted the U.S. Navy for comment.
The U.S. Air Force has 246 F-35s in its fleet, while the Marine Corps has 122 and the Navy has 41, according to the World Air Forces database on FlightGlobal.com.
Internationally, there are over 17 countries involved in the F-35 program, according to Lockheed Martin.
Recently, the jet has faced scrutiny regarding maintenance and readiness issues.
In a January 2025 report from the Defense Department’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, variants of the multimillion-dollar jet failed to meet requirements for reliability, maintainability, and availability.
“The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet continues to fall short of Service expectations,” the report said.
In May, a U.S. Navy jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was lost to the Red Sea after the pilot and weapons systems officer were forced to eject when the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet’s tail hook failed to catch the stopping wire and suffered an arrestment failure as it attempted to land on the carrier.
Both pilots survived the incident but suffered minor injuries.
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