WASHINGTON — The pilot of a AV-8B Harrrier was killed Monday when his jet crashed in the woods outside Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., service officials said.

The single-seat jet crashed about 12:15 p.m. while returning from a routine training flight. At press time officials from Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 said they did not know the cause of the crash.

Marine officials said the aircraft went down in a largely unpopulated area about one mile from the air station. Local authorities say the crash did not affect any of the few homes in the area.

The identity of the pilot was not released, pending notification of next of kin.

Another Harrier crashed in February near the base but the pilot wasn’t injured. Monday’s crash comes in the same month that another Marine jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood near its base, killing four people on the ground.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.