A pilot was flying the Super Hornet as part of “routine operations” when the pilot crashed in Death Valley National Park around 3 p.m., said Lt. Alyssa La Rosa. No details about the pilot, including rank, were released. There was only one person in the two-seat aircraft, Navy officials told USNI News
The pilot received minor injuries and was treated at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, according to a release from Naval Air Forces. The pilot crashed in a remote area of the park, and no bystanders were injured.
Search and rescue units from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Fort Irwin Army Base and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 rescued the pilot following the crash.
The crash is being investigated by the Navy and Death Valley National Park, which are also coordinating cleanup efforts, La Rosa said. Death Valley law enforcement did not respond to a call for comment.
The Super Hornet is assigned to the “Vampires” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9, based at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.
