Fighter jet crashes and sparks small fire after 'mishap' at San Diego Marine base

An F-35B fighter jet crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday morning, sparking a small fire at the base. The aircraft, assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Group 11, went down around 10 a.m., and Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Steven Keenan called the incident a “Class A mishap.” The pilot was the only person on board, ejected, and was recovered; it was not immediately clear whether the pilot was injured. NBC San Diego’s SkyRanger 7 footage showed a plane in at least two pieces within a fire-scorched area roughly the size of a football field, with crews dousing flames using streams of water. The cause wasn’t confirmed, and the crash was reported several feet away from an airport runway. The story is developing.