Published: 20:17 BST, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 22:43 BST, 16 August 2026<\/p>\n
A battered Marine pilot ejected from his fighter jet moments before it slammed into a mountainside in Washington state – and miraculously walked away nearly unscathed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The narrowly spared pilot\u00a0was flying an F\/A-18 Hornet during routine training on June 13, when he experienced a 'non-combat aviation mishap' that sent the jet crashing into a mountainside, according to\u00a0the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.<\/p>\n
Shocking new video shows the bloodied, shaken pilot approaching Yakima County officers while on the phone with 911.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An officer asked the pilot what kind of aircraft he was flying, to which he responded:\u00a0'That's an F-18. Well, that was an F-18.'\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added: 'We were doing circles over the lake, doing some low-level training. And then I tucked in, and I'm not sure exactly.'<\/p>\n
A witness can be heard chiming in during the video, saying: 'You hit the tree bad, bud.'\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later in the video, the shaken pilot can be seen calling to alert others about the crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shocking new video shows the bloodied, shaken pilot approaching officers after he ejected from his aircraft<\/p>\n
When the aircraft slammed into the mountainside, it sent a plume of black smoke into the sky and sparked a raging wildfire<\/p>\n
\u00a0'Hey, buddy, I just crashed,' the pilot says before the footage cuts to his parachute dangling from a tree.<\/p>\n
The pilot told officers he went through trees during his descent after ejecting, as they examined his bloody face, which appeared to have suffered parachute-related lacerations.<\/p>\n
The aircraft slammed into a mountainside near Rimrock Lake, about 55 miles southeast of Seattle.<\/p>\n
When the aircraft slammed into the mountainside, it sent a plume of black smoke into the sky and sparked a raging wildfire.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pilot, whose name has not been released, is assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in Miramar, California.<\/p>\n