‘As close as it gets’: Bodycam footage shows Marine pilot walking away from crashed F/A-18 Hornet

Newly released bodycam footage shows a bloody-faced U.S. Marine Corps pilot encountering local authorities after ejecting from a F/A-18 Hornet in Washington state two months ago. On June 13, a pilot assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, safely ejected from the aircraft after an aviation mishap while conducting a routine training exercise. The incident occurred on the south side of Rimrock Lake near Bear Cove in Yakima County, Washington, where the aircraft crashed into the mountainside, sparking a wildfire in the area shortly after. The pilot emerged from a wooded area and approached a law enforcement officer from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office with his face covered in blood while on a 911 call, according to the office’s bodycam footage shared with Military Times. At the time of the crash, the Marine aircraft wing, based in California, would not confirm whether the aviation mishap caused the wildfire, but the footage shows the officer telling someone on the phone that “We got the hillside on fire where the jet landed.” When asked what type of aircraft it was, the pilot responded, “That’s an F-18. Well, that was an F-18.” “We were doing circles over the lake, doing some low-level training,” the pilot said. “And then I tucked in, and I’m not sure exactly. Honestly, I’m a little frazzled.” When about to make a phone call, he told the officer that he was “very, very lucky to be alive.” “That’s about as close as it gets,” the officer responded. The pi…