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Plane CrashesVersion 3

Body camera footage shows Marine pilot after F/A-18 ejection near Rimrock Lake, Washington

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office released the footage on Aug. 14, 2026, two months after the June 13 crash; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 14, 2026, 9:25 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 16, 2026, 9:54 p.m. ET
Developing · checked 3 days ago

This is a developing story. Details reported early are provisional and are frequently revised. Where sources disagree, both readings are given.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 14, 2026, 11:50 p.m. ET — checked 3 days ago.

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office released body camera footage on Aug. 14, 2026 showing a U.S. Marine Corps pilot after he ejected from an , according to ABC News, the New York Post and Breitbart. The crash occurred on June 13, 2026 near , in , the outlets reported. The aircraft was in , according to Breitbart. The pilot ejected and went through trees on the way down, and his parachute was seen hanging from a tree, according to the reporting. His injuries were suspected to be parachute lacerations on his face. The crash ignited a wildfire and sent a plume of black smoke into the air, and was captured on video by campers and posted on social media, the outlets reported. In the body camera footage, the pilot told deputies, "I came over that tree line... I clipped those trees," and said he was doing circles over the lake, low-level training. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said the pilot was conducting routine training when the aircraft experienced a "non-fatal aviation mishap." The pilot is assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in Miramar, California, according to the same reporting. The cause has not been determined. The outlets reported that the investigation remains open, and their accounts include no further official findings on what brought the aircraft down.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 317 Aug 2026, 01:54current

    Added New York Post attribution and the reported suspected parachute lacerations and descent through trees.

  2. Version 216 Aug 2026, 21:12

    Added Breitbart sourcing, the Rimrock Lake location and Washington state, the cruise phase of flight, the pilot's quoted remark to deputies, and the detail that campers filmed the crash.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 03:55

    First published.

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