United States Marine Corps F/A-18A/C/D Crash

An F/A-18D Legacy Hornet assigned to VMFA-323 of Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, crashed on June 13, 2026, at around 12:00 PDT roughly 55 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington. The two-seat jet went down while flying the VR-1355 low-level visual route through the Cascade Mountains near Rimrock Lake during a routine training mission. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by the local sheriff's department, with no reported ground injuries. The impact ignited the small Pine Tree Fire. The cause of the mishap is under investigation by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.