LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 — A US F-35 fighter jet crashed yesterday near a military base in San Diego, but the pilot was able to eject before impact, officials said.

“There was an aviation mishap involving a Marine Corps F-35B in the vicinity” of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar at about 10am (1700 GMT/1am Malaysian time), a spokesman for the base told AFP.

“The pilot was ejected and has been recovered.”

A later statement from the military base said the pilot had been transported to a medical facility “in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.”

Footage circulated on social media showing a plume of smoke rising from the aircraft, as firefighters were deployed to douse the flames.

MCAS Miramar is known around the world as the one-time home of the US Navy’s “Top Gun” school for elite pilots, immortalised in the 1986 film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise.

Each F-35B, the variant of the stealth fighter jet with vertical takeoff and landing capability, costs about US$109 million (RM445 million), according to maker Lockheed Martin. — AFP