Marine Pilot Survives Ejection as F-18 Crashes into Washington Mountainside
A Marine pilot ejected from his F/A-18 before it slammed into a mountainside near Rimrock Lake, Washington, and was later found by deputies with a bloodied face.
During a routine training sortie on June 13, a Marine Corps pilot assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, ejected from his F/A-18 Hornet after the aircraft struck a mountainside near Rimrock Lake, about 55 miles southeast of Seattle. The impact ignited a wildfire and was recorded by campers in the area. Yakima County sheriff’s deputies later encountered the pilot, whose face was bloodied and who appeared disoriented, holding a phone displaying a 911 call.
He explained to officers that the aircraft was an F-18 and that they had been flying low-level circles over the lake before the crash. The wing described the event as a non-fatal aviation mishap, and investigators are still determining the cause.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the dangers of military flight training and its potential to trigger wildfires.
In this story
