An F/A-18D Legacy Hornet belonging to VMFA-323 crashed while flying on low-altitude route VR-1355 in Washington State, and the pilot was captured on camera ejecting.
At approximately 12:00 PDT on June 13, 2026, an F/A-18D Hornet assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed approximately 55 miles southeast of Seattle while conducting a routine training mission.
The pilot ejected safely and was rescued by the local sheriff’s department.
An official press release from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said, “The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.” “To maintain the integrity of the investigation, no additional details are available at this time. The accident investigation may take several months to complete depending on a variety of factors.”
Interestingly, video of one of the pilots ejecting from the two-seat Legacy Hornet began circulating online almost immediately, as well as an explosion following the impact of the jet, which expanded the pine tree fire to two acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Tic Toc’s video of VFMA-323’s F-18 crash in WA. It was rumored that the pilot escaped safely. Praying that he doesn’t get hurt pic.twitter.com/hAmRftwdpc
— Flygirlpainter 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 (@ShayneB52) June 14, 2026
A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet crashed during a training flight in Washington state.
The pilot ejected safely before impact. There are no reports of injuries at the scene.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. pic.twitter.com/4guhfPCYYf
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 14, 2026
The accident occurred along Visual Route 1355, one of the lower-elevation routes that pass through the Cascade Mountains National Park.
According to reports, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 crashed near Rimrock Lake and the pilot ejected and left with medical personnel. This follows Washington State’s famous VR-1355 low-altitude path.
🎥509Average pic.twitter.com/UhKZyUCRF9
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) June 14, 2026
VR-1355 is one of the most popular low-altitude routes among the NASWI-based Growler squadron, colloquially referred to as the “million dollar ride” for its fun, “aggressive” flights that can take in scenic views and traverse valleys.
An EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron 130 (VAQ-130) “Zappers” with two crew members crashed in the same area near Mount Rainier two years ago, on October 15, 2024. The wreckage of the aircraft was discovered in a mountainous area by search teams on Wednesday 16 October. The fate of the two naval aviators aboard the Growler was determined at the time of the crash, October 21, 2024, when the U.S. Navy captured them as Lt. Unknown until identified by Cmdr. Lindsey “Miley” Evans and Lt. Serena “Doug” Weiman.
The U.S. Marine Corps did not provide details about the exact type or unit of the Legacy Hornet that crashed on June 13, but the aircraft was almost immediately identified as BuNo 165412, tail code WS-415, of VMFA-323 “Death Rattlers” based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California, and flown as SNAKE 21. The identification was made possible thanks to photos of the aircraft departing from King County International Airport. Boeing Field, where MCAS Miramar’s “Death Rattlers” legacy Hornets are deployed.
A Puget Sound photographer discovered that only three of the four aircraft returned to their departure airfields and that the missing jet was airframe 165412.
In connection with the fighter jet lost in a crash at Rimrock Lake in the Cascades, it was this Legacy Hornet airframe that MCAS Miramar visited.
‘SNAKE21’ was the tail WS-415 of 165412, VMFA-323 ‘Death Rattlers’. https://t.co/7LqreS9TBF
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) June 13, 2026
