Military jet crashes near San Diego base; fate of pilot uncertain
Officials are searching for a missing pilot after a military jet crashed near the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California.
The crash involved an F/A-18 Hornet, the base said in a news release on Facebook, and occurred just before midnight local time. The crash site is on government property, the base said, and no property appears to have been damaged.
The craft was operating out of the base, but was not part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is headquartered at Miramar.
CBS News affiliate KFMB-TV reported that the U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crews were searching for the pilot of the craft. The search was still ongoing as of 5:30 a.m. local time Friday morning.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
MCAS Miramar houses over 12,000 Marines, sailors and civilians. The base is about 10 miles north of San Diego.
The F/A-18 is a multirole combat aircraft flown by the Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy and several other nations, the Associated Press reported.