U.S. Navy F/A-18E Crashes Near China Lake. Pilot Ejected And In Stable Condition

The Super Hornet was flying a training mission from NAS Lemoore, California.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E has crashed near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, on Oct. 20, 2020. The pilot is reported to have successfully ejected from the single-seat Super Hornet and is currently in stable condition at a local medical facility.

The aircraft, departed from NAS Lemoore, California, was on a training mission over the Superior Valley, when it crashed at around 10.20LT, near a rock formation on the west side of Highway 14, in Kern County.

No additional detail about the incident, that is currently being investigated, has been disclosed.

F18 PLANE CRASH: This is video just in from the scene near the Robbers Roost rock formation in East Kern County (near Hwy 14 and Hwy 178 junction). No word on any injuries. pic.twitter.com/bUZpRQu7tb

— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) October 20, 2020

Last year, on July 31, 2019, another F/A-18E Super Hornet belonging to the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, the “Vigilantes” also based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, California, crashed in the Rainbow Canyon low flying training area.  Lt. Charles Z. Walker, 33, was killed in the incident.

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.