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F/A-18 Hornet Crashes in Washington National Forest; Pilot Safe

Marine Corps aviator ejects without injury following training mission mishap near Rimrock Lake.

F/A-18 Hornet [Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Ryan Ulibarri]
F/A-18 Hornet [Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Ryan Ulibarri]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed during a training mission 55 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington.
  • The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was recovered without any reported injuries.
  • The crash sparked a 15-acre wildfire near Rimrock Lake, leading to campground evacuations and road closures before firefighters extinguished it.
See a mistake? Contact us.

Officials at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego said in a statement that a jet assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Wing “experienced a non-fatal aviation mishap” during a training mission 55 miles southeast of Seattle on Saturday.

According to officials, the pilot of the F/A-18 Hornet “ejected safely and was recovered by the local sheriff’s department.”

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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