Advertisement

Fighter Jet Smolders After Two Military Planes Collide in Southern California Desert

A fighter jet crashed after it collided midair with a military transport plane during a refueling operation on September 29 near Thermal, California, according to local media.

The pilot of the Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jet “ejected successfully and is currently being treated,” a military spokesman said.

The Lockheed Martin KC-130 tanker plane made an emergency landing, and all eight occupants onboard were reported to be safe, local media said.

The crash was reported at 5 pm local time in an unspecified location near Thermal, according to a spokesman for Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Yuma, Arizona.

California resident Bryan Wolter captured the video that shows the burning wreckage of the crash in the Coachella Valley.

“We heard a loud explosion that shook the house like an earthquake, then looked up and saw one plane still flying to the southeast, and a parachute falling slowly along with a falling fireball of a smaller plane,” said Wolter. “I then took off in the truck to see the crash site you see in the video.” Credit: Bryan Wolter via Storyful