2 Military Aircraft Collide Midair Near Salton Sea

SALTON CITY, CA — A midair collision Tuesday involving two U.S. Marine Corps aircraft near the Salton Sea resulted in the crash of an F-35B fighter jet after the pilot safely ejected.

The F-35B combat aircraft "made contact" with a KC-130J tanker around 4 p.m. during air-to-air refueling, resulting in the crash of the F-35B, according to 1st Lt. Brett Vannier, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, COMMSTRAT Director.

The F-35B pilot ejected and was being treated for unspecified injuries.

Eight crew members were on board the tanker that was forced to make an emergency landing in a Thermal field. An unspecified number of the crew were injured during the incident, but the extent was not yet available.

Vannier said everyone involved in the collision was "safe."

Tuesday night the KC-130J remained in the field near the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, and it was not immediately known if the aircraft was flyable. Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department confirmed firefighters responded to the incident at Polk Street and 59th Avenue in Thermal.

Vannier did not have details on the exact location of the F-35B debris field. According to published media reports, the jet crashed near Salton City in Imperial County, causing fires on impact that were extinguished by the Imperial County Fire Department.

Vannier expected to provide more updates as information becomes available, including where the aircraft were based.

The official cause of the crash is currently under investigation, according to Vannier.

—Patch Editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report.

#BREAKING A plane made an emergency landing in a farm field in Thermal just East if the airport. Early reports of 8 on board. It reportedly clipped another plane mid-air. We are live in scene wirh the early details. @KESQ pic.twitter.com/b4rDWJgoat
— Jake Ingrassia (@JakeKESQ) September 30, 2020