A video screen grab shows an F-35 jet after it crashed into a Fresno County cotton field Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Fresno County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)
A Navy F-35C Lightning II crashed Wednesday near Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., according to a post on the base’s official Facebook page.
The pilot ejected safely when the multirole fighter from Fighter Attack Squadron 125 went down at 6:30 p.m. local time, according to the base. The pilot was transported by helicopter to a hospital for evaluation and was expected to be OK, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. No other damage or injuries resulted from the crash, according to the base.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
The plane crashed in a field in Fresno County, according to Fox26 News, a local broadcaster.
Lemoore, 30 miles south of Fresno in California’s Central Valley, is the headquarters of the Navy Strike Fighter Command Pacific, according to the base website.
Sixteen operational strike fighter squadrons are based there, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and Lightning IIs, according to the website. The F-35C is the version of the fifth-generation stealth fighter built for carrier operations.
An F-35C Lightning II lands at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., on March 18, 2022. (Jessica Nilsson/U.S. Navy)
