Newly released bodycam footage shows a bloody-faced U.S. Marine Corps pilot encountering local authorities after ejecting from a F/A-18 Hornet in Washington state two months ago.
On June 13, a pilot assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, safely ejected from the aircraft after an aviation mishap while conducting a routine training exercise.
The incident occurred on the south side of Rimrock Lake near Bear Cove in Yakima County, Washington, where the aircraft crashed into the mountainside, sparking a wildfire in the area shortly after.
The pilot emerged from a wooded area and approached a law enforcement officer from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office with his face covered in blood while on a 911 call, according to the office’s bodycam footage shared with Military Times.
At the time of the crash, the Marine aircraft wing, based in California, would not confirm whether the aviation mishap caused the wildfire, but the footage shows the officer telling someone on the phone that “We got the hillside on fire where the jet landed.”
When asked what type of aircraft it was, the pilot responded, “That’s an F-18. Well, that was an F-18.”
“We were doing circles over the lake, doing some low-level training,” the pilot said. “And then I tucked in, and I’m not sure exactly. Honestly, I’m a little frazzled.”
When about to make a phone call, he told the officer that he was “very, very lucky to be alive.”
“That’s about as close as it gets,” the officer responded.
The pilot said after coming over a treeline, he hit the trees and ejected, prompting a witness to say, “Damn bud, you got to fly higher.”
“Hey buddy, I just crashed,” the pilot said to another person in the squadron over the phone.
The officer then takes off into the woods where the pilot landed after ejecting to collect his gear, consisting of items such as a vest, pack and a helmet with the words “COME TO FIGHT COME TO WIN” printed on it.
Later in the footage, the officer and pilot are seen walking through the woods to find and remove more of the pilot’s items.
As they are walking, the pilot says his “mouth tastes like bark” before the officer mutes his bodycam. They retrieve the pilot’s bloody oxygen mask and the large white and orange parachute that got tangled in the trees after the pilot used it when ejecting out of the jet.
Paramedics later arrived on scene to examine the pilot’s minor lacerations to his face and hands before he was taken to the hospital.
“Without exaggeration, that is as close as you can get,” the pilot remarked earlier.
Toward the end of the hour and 45 minutes of footage, two officers are seen placing yellow police tape around an area in the woods where a large part of the Hornet aircraft lies.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, according to a 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing release at the time of the incident.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.