A Navy pilot who was missing after his single-seat fighter jet crashed in California’s Death Valley National Park Wednesday died, the U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday.
The pilot’s fate was not immediately certain after the F/A-18E Super Hornet jet crashed Wednesday morning and injured seven park visitors from France with burns and lacerations, Reuters reported.
Navy officials identified his remains. (RELATED: Last Living Man On Original Navy SEAL Team Celebrates 94th Birthday)
The view from Dante’s Peak shows the “Badwaters Basin” salted area of the Death Valley desert in California on Feb. 26, 2019. (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP/ Getty Images)
The pilot was participating in a low-altitude training mission Wednesday, U.S. Naval Air Station Lemoore spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Lydia Bock told Reuters.
Navy officials did not explain further details regarding the cause of the incident but said it is under investigation. The Navy is withholding the identity of the pilot until after next of kin are notified. (RELATED: US Navy Plans Massive Expansion Of Destroyer Fleet)
The crash was the first of a military plane in Death Valley — the hottest, driest and lowest-elevation national park in the country — since the 1990s.
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