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Plane CrashesVersion 9

Marine Corps F-35B Crashes at Miramar Air Station Near San Diego; Pilot Ejects

The pilot ejected before the aircraft went down on July 31, 2026, and the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 31, 2026, 3:49 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 10:27 a.m. ET
An fighter crashed near , , on July 31, 2026, at around 10 a.m. according to freerepublic.com and according to Aerotime. Albawaba reported the pilot ejected successfully before the aircraft went down at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Al Jazeera, Aerotime and freerepublic.com identified the aircraft as an ; albawaba described it as an . Details remain incomplete. Sources differ on the phase of flight: Aerotime reported the aircraft was on , while freerepublic.com reported it crashed during . Accounts of the operator also differ: Al Jazeera and Aerotime attributed the aircraft to the , albawaba to the , and freerepublic.com reported it was associated with the . Aerotime reported the aircraft was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The event has been classified as a Class A mishap, described by Aerotime as the Marine Corps' most serious category and by albawaba as the U.S. military's designation for the most serious aircraft accidents. All the sources reported the pilot ejected, and freerepublic.com reported a fireball came out of the plane as he did so. Al Jazeera reported the pilot was safe. Aerotime reported a witness estimated the pilot ejected at about 100 feet above the ground, and that there were no fatalities on the ground. The crash occurred on the base's flight line, sending up a plume of black smoke, according to that reporting. Aerial video showed a plume of black smoke rising from wreckage in a dirt field; Aerotime described heavily burned wreckage in a dirt area beside the runway, and reported the crash ignited a small fire. A vegetation fire sparked near the crash site, and albawaba reported Fire-Rescue Department crews responded to a fire that broke out nearby. Al Jazeera reported that a single costs about $109m, and that at least seven other military aircraft have crashed in the United States this year; albawaba described this as the seventh documented mishap involving a U.S. military aircraft in 2026. Aerotime reported the crash follows the March 31, 2026, loss of a US Air Force F-35 in Nevada, and a B-52 bomber crash in 's Mojave Desert in June 2026 that killed all eight on board was also reported. Those earlier events say nothing about the cause of this one. No individual tail number or serial for the aircraft appears in the material available; military aircraft are not listed in the civil registry, so there is no registry record to match. Weather observations recorded at International Airport, 1.9 miles away and nine minutes from the reported time, showed variable wind at 4 knots, visibility of 5 statute miles in mist, scattered cloud at 1,400 feet and a temperature of 76°F. Those are instrument readings at a nearby field and are not a stated factor in the crash. Albawaba reported an investigation is open. The cause has not been determined, and no findings from any investigating authority have been reported.

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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.

Terrain elevation
95 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.9 miles SE of San Diego International Airport (KSAN/SAN)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 97 Aug 2026, 14:27current

    No new facts; headline and dek clarified to name Miramar and the date, body unchanged.

  2. Version 85 Aug 2026, 20:41

    Added albawaba reporting: crash site named as MCAS Miramar, San Diego Fire-Rescue response, open investigation, seventh 2026 US military mishap and the June 2026 B-52 crash; noted the F-35B/F-35B Lightning II naming difference and dropped the generic San Diego geographic paragraph.

  3. Version 74 Aug 2026, 23:38

    Added headline and dek; body unchanged from v6.

  4. Version 64 Aug 2026, 23:28

    Added headline and dek framing the Class A mishap classification and undetermined cause; body facts unchanged.

  5. Version 54 Aug 2026, 23:23

    Removed the "developing" framing now that the account is settled; no new facts reported.

  6. Version 44 Aug 2026, 20:33

    Added Aerotime reporting: approach/landing conflict, no ground fatalities, Marine Aircraft Group 11 assignment, witness ejection estimate of about 100 feet, burned wreckage beside the runway, and the March 31, 2026, Nevada F-35 loss.

  7. Version 34 Aug 2026, 20:09

    Added a note that no tail number or serial appears in the available material and that military aircraft have no civil registry record to match.

  8. Version 24 Aug 2026, 20:09

    Added Al Jazeera reporting (pilot safe, $109m cost, aerial video, vegetation fire, seven other US military crashes this year), presented the operator as a sourced conflict, and corrected the bearings to the two nearby aerodromes.

  9. Version 14 Aug 2026, 20:09

    First published.

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