Military fighter jet crashes into field outside Lemoore air base
A U.S. Navy F-18 fighter jet flies over North Beach on the opening day of the Chicago Air and Water Show on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in Chicago.
An F-18 fighter jet crashed Monday afternoon into a field north of California 198 near Lemoore after the pilot ejected, the California Highway Patrol said.
CHP officers were dispatched to a dirt field near 27th Avenue and California 198 just after 4 p.m. after receiving reports of of a downed military aircraft, Officer Scott Jobinger said.
The first crews to arrived extinguished a fire from the crash but didn’t find the pilot, who had reportedly ejected before impact, Jobinger said.
The status of the pilot was not immediately known.
Personnel from Naval Air Station Lemoore were at the crash site, Jobinger said.
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