A Marine pilot who narrowly survived a blazing fighter jet crash in Washington state emerged bloodied but remarkably intact, calmly telling someone over the phone, “Hey, buddy, I just crashed,” according to newly released video.
Footage made public by the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office shows the injured pilot — assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Miramar, Ca. — speaking with 911 as he walks up to responding deputies along a road near the June 13 crash scene.
“That’s an F-18,” he tells the deputies, before adding, “Well, that was an F-18.”
The Marine said the aircraft had been involved in low-level military training, explaining, “We were doing circles over the lake, doing some low-level training…and then I tucked in, and I’m not sure exactly.”
“Honestly, I’m a little frazzled,” he admitted.
The fighter jet crashed into a mountainside near Rimrock Lake, about 55 miles southeast of Seattle, during training exercises, ABC News reported. The impact sent thick black smoke rising into the summer sky and ignited a wildfire in the area.
“You hit the tree bad, bud,” one witness joked after the crash.
Later in the video, the blood-covered pilot can be seen warning others about the burning wreckage nearby.
“Hey, buddy, I just crashed,” he said, according to the outlet.
The pilot explained that he went through some trees on the way down after ejecting while discussing his bloody injuries with the officers, which were suspected to be parachute lacerations on his face.
At the time of the crash, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a news release that the pilot was conducting routine training when the jet experienced a “non-fatal aviation mishap.”
The name of the pilot has not been released.
The crash remains under investigation.
