Marine Corps Fighter Jet Crashes in California Desert After Refueling Mishap

A Marine Corps fighter jet collided in mid-air with another plane during a refueling operation in a remote desert area of Southern California Tuesday afternoon. The pilot of the fighter jet ejected, the U.S. military said.

The F-35B jet collided with a KC-130J aircraft around 4 p.m., according to a statement from the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in nearby Arizona.

The jet pilot “ejected successfully and is currently being treated,” the statement said. It didn’t provide other details.

The other plane reportedly had eight crew members on board. None were injured.

The F-35B is a single-seat combat aircraft that can take off and land conventionally and vertically. That plane crashed near the Salton Sea, an inland lake about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of downtown San Diego.

The four-engine turboprop tanker landed in Thermal, a small desert city in Riverside County about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northeast of downtown San Diego.

Video from local TV station KESQ showed the KC-130 aircraft on its belly in a farm field near the Thermal Airport.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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