Posted on 06/15/2026 5:11:58 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
An F/A-18D Legacy Hornet belonging to VMFA-323 crashed while flying the VR-1355 low-level route in Washington State, with the pilot’s ejection caught on camera.
On Jun. 13, 2026, at approximately 12.00 PDT an F/A-18D Hornet aircraft 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 recovered by the local sheriff’s department.
“The cause of the mishap is currently under investigation,” says an official 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing press release.
Interestingly, clips of the single pilot ejecting from the two-seat Legacy Hornet have almost immediately started circulating online, showing also the explosion following the impact of the jet with led to the ignition of the Pine Tree Fire, which has grown to two acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The mishap took place along the Visual Route 1355, one of the low level routes running through national parks in the Cascade Mountains.
Colloquially called the “million dollar ride” for both the scenic views and the fun and “aggressive” flying that can be done through the valleys, VR-1355 is one of the most popular low level routes among the Growler squadrons based at NASWI.
While the U.S. Marine Corps did not provide any details about the exact type or unit of the Legacy Hornet that crashed on Jun. 13, the aircraft was almost immediately identified as BuNo 165412, tail code WS-415, from VMFA-323 “Death Rattlers,” based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in California, flying as SNAKE 21. The identification was made possible thanks to photographs of the aircraft departing King County International Airport – Boeing Field where the “Death Rattlers” Legacy Hornets from MCAS Miramar had deployed.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaviationist.com ...
Three military crashes in on 24 hour period. And a civilian aircraft that took 12 lives.................
“The last two in that sequence are why and How”
I didn’t include them because they’re unknown at this point.
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