A military pilot was killed when his strike fighter crashed on a training mission in Nevada, the Navy said in a statement Monday.
The F/A-18C Hornet went down Saturday during a training flight for the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center about 70 miles east of the center's headquarters at Naval Air Station Fallon.
The pilot’s identity has been withheld until his next-of-kin are notified, the Navy said.
Reports from the scene indicated the twin-engine supersonic combat jet was “a total loss,” the statement read.
“The aircraft was not carrying any weapons or other munitions on the training flight,” it said, adding that there were no reports of any other injuries or property damage associated with the crash, which happened at around 3 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET) Saturday.
“An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the crash,” the statement added.
An earlier release had incorrectly identified the jet as belonging to the U.S. Navy, but the later statement clarified that the fighter had been loaned to the Air Warfare Center by the U.S. Marine Corps.
