US combat jet crashes near Marine Corps air station in San Diego, search underway

The F/A-18 went down at 11:54 p.m. Thursday in the vicinity of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, a base press release said.

A military jet crashed near a San Diego base and a search-and-rescue operation was underway, the U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement early Friday.

The aircraft was not part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar but was operating out of the air station, the statement said. (File)

The F/A-18 went down at 11:54 p.m. Thursday in the vicinity of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, a base press release said.

“The crash site is on government property east of the air station and there are no indications of damage to property on the ground,” the statement said. Miramar is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.

The aircraft was not part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar but was operating out of the air station, the statement said.

The F/A-18 is a multirole combat aircraft flown by the Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy and several other nations.

Marine Capt. Michael Scaccia, Miramar's director of communications, said in an email to The Associated Press that there was no additional information.