A Navy pilot safely ejected from an F-35 jet moments before it crashed into a Fresno County cotton field in a fiery blaze Wednesday evening. The crash occurred about 6:30 p.m., not far from Navy Air Station Lemoore, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

In May 2024, a pilot in New Mexico was seriously injured after he ejected from an F-35 before it crashed near an airfield in Albuquerque. In September 2023, a pilot ejected from an F-35 and parachuted into a backyard in Charleston, South Carolina. The jet flew unmanned for several minutes before it crashed into a field about 60 miles away.

Officials say a pilot is safe after an F-35C fighter jet crashed near a central California naval installation.