Navy confirms NAS Lemoore pilot died in Death Valley crash
The Lemoore Naval Air Station pilot who crashed in Death Valley on Wednesday died in the crash, the U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday afternoon.
The identity of the pilot is being withheld for 24 hours for notification of family, said Lt. Cmdr Lydia Bock with the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific.
“The Navy mourns the loss of one of our own and our hearts go out to the family and friends affected by this tragedy,” Bock said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The pilot was flying with another jet, but they were not flying in formation before the crash, officials said during a news conference at the Lemoore Naval Air Station base Wednesday.
The Super Hornet was part of a squadron nicknamed the Vigilantes from Lemoore. It is part of Carrier Air Group 9 and attached to the USS John C. Stennis.
Seven tourists were injured while standing near Father Crowley Vista Point during the crash, according to Death Valley National Park spokesman Patrick Taylor. “I’ve heard the injuries were mostly burns but maybe some shrapnel as well,” he said. None of the injuries were life threatening, he added.
KABC-TV reported the tourists were from France, and one of the injured was taken to a Los Angeles-area hospital with burns.
The crash happened on the western edge of the park above Star Wars Canyon. Military jets regularly fly over the canyon, Taylor said, and it is a popular spot for photographers to wait to capture photos.
Search and rescue teams from the China Lake and Lemoore bases helped in the search. Initially, National Park Service rangers responded to the incident, Taylor said.
A witness told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he saw “a black mushroom cloud go up” after the crash.
Aaron Cassel was working at the Panamint Spring Resort about 10 miles away and was the first to report the crash to dispatch, according to the Associated Press.
Cassel said his father went to see the burn scar and saw scattered jet parts between the parking lot and the overlook.
“It looked like a bomb,” Cassell said. “To me that speaks of a very violent impact.”
He told the Associated Press he did not see any parachute.
The crash site is about 40 miles away from the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in Ridgecrest.
In May, an F-16 fighter pilot ejected before his jet crashed into a warehouse in Riverside County. In October 2018, an Air Force pilot from Fresno was killed in a training exercise in Ukraine.