A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego on Friday morning, forcing the pilot to eject before impact. The aircraft, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11 under the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, went down at approximately 10:00 a.m. local time on the flightline at Miramar, according to the Marine Corps. In April, an Air Force F-35 assigned to Nellis Air Force Base went down in the Nevada Test and Training Range after the pilot ejected safely. One of the program’s most high-profile incidents occurred in 2023 when a Marine Corps F-35B continued flying for more than 11 minutes after its pilot ejected over South Carolina before crashing about 70 miles away. Investigators later concluded the pilot had ejected improperly following multiple technical malfunctions.