Navy F-35C Jet Crashes Near NAS Lemoore

By Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor

ARLINGTON, Va. — A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II strike fighter crashed on July 30 near Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, the air station said in a Facebook post.

“NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation,” the announcement said. “At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 Rough Raiders went down not far from NAS Lemoore. We can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel.”

VFA-125 is the fleet replacement squadron for the F-35C, training aviators and maintenance personnel for Navy and Marine Corps squadrons that operate the F-35C.

The jet is the fourth tactical jet that the Navy has lost this calendar year.