An F/A-18C pilot is safe and being treated at an area hospital after ejecting from his Hornet during a training flight near Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, on Tuesday, according to a Navy release.
The pilot was about 10 miles southeast of Fallon and returning to base when the jet crashed around 10:45 a.m. local time, NAS Fallon said in a release.
The pilot was recovered and transported to Banner Churchill Regional Medical Center. An investigation into the accident's cause is underway.
Air station spokesman Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Joseph Vincent said the plane is attached to the Marine Strike Fighter Squadron 232 based at Marine Air Station Miramar, California. It was on a temporary assignment to the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific Detachment in Fallon.
The crash is the third F/A-18C class 'A' mishap this summer, after a Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 pilot was killed last Friday in southern California and Blue Angels pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss was killed during airshow practice in June.
All three were flying naval aviation's legacy strike fighter, an airframe first fielded in the 1980s and currently undergoing a fleet-wide overhaul of Navy aircraft to extend their service lives from 6,000 to 10,000 hours.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
