Dramatic body camera footage released by the Yakima County Sheriff's Office shows the moments local authorities encountered a pilot who had ejected from an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet before it crashed into a mountainside in Washington state earlier this summer. The aircraft impacted the terrain on June 13 in the area of Rimrock Lake, approximately 55 miles southeast of Seattle, creating a plume of black smoke and igniting a wildfire.
The pilot, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11 at Miramar, California, approached deputies with his phone in hand, displaying the 911 emergency number. In the footage, the pilot appears shaken and has minor lacerations on his face.
When asked what kind of jet it was, the pilot identified it as an F-18, adding, "Well, that was an F-18." He explained they were conducting low-level training and doing circles over the lake before the incident. A witness can be heard remarking, "You hit the tree bad, bud."
Later in the video, the pilot is seen making a phone call, stating, "Hey, buddy, I just crashed." A parachute was later spotted hanging from a tree.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing stated at the time that the pilot was engaged in routine training when the aircraft experienced a "non-fatal aviation mishap." The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The pilot's injuries were described as minor lacerations to his face by responding officers.