SAN DIEGO - An F-18 Hornet military jet crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Thursday, ejecting the pilot and triggering a small brush fire, authorities said.
The pilot ejected before the jet hit the ground, according to a statement from the Marines.
The pilot was found soon after the crash. Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said his condition was not immediately known.
“All of a sudden his nose pitched down and you saw the pilot eject, his canopy fully deployed, and that jet just went straight down,” eyewitness Brett Barrowclougi told KUSI-TV. “The next thing you saw was a big cloud of smoke coming up.”