F35 fighter jet crashes into California field near naval air station

An F-35 fighter jet crashed into a California field on Wednesday night, sparking a 10 acre fire and fears for the pilot’s safety.

The Naval Air Station in Lemoore later confirmed the pilot involved in the accident had successfully ejected and was safe.

The ‘Rough Raiders’ jet went down about 6.35pm and crashed into a Fresno County field, a spokesperson said.

An F-35 fighter jet crashed into a California field on Wednesday night, sparking a 10 acre fire and fears for the pilot’s safety

‘Rough Raiders’ is a Navy squadron which trains pilots to fly F-35s

‘Rough Raiders’ is a Navy squadron which trains pilots to fly F-35s.

‘NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation,’ the spokesperson said.

‘At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 “Rough Raiders” went down not far from NAS Lemoore.

‘NAS Lemoore can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe.’

Deputies were called to the scene, but it was determined no other personnel were affected.

The crash did spark a grass fire in the immediate surroundings and had spread to be 10 acres as of about 7.55pm, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.