ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:09 p.m. December 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO – A pilot who safely ejected from an F-18 Hornet fighter jet moments before it crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was identified Friday by military officials.
Capt. Jonathan C. Ashmore, 27, of Oakland, Mich., ejected Thursday about three miles from the Marine base airfield, according to Miramar spokesman Maj. Jason Johnston. He was on a final approach for landing at the base.
Johnston said Ashmore was a “pilot under instruction,” which means he had completed flight school but was still learning how to operate the F-18.
Ashmore was the sole occupant of the two-seat plane. He was found near the wreckage of the jet, which crashed in an unpopulated, hilly area of the base.
Ashmore sustained only minor injuries.
The experience of ejecting from a fighter jet is “very traumatic,” Johnston said.
Miramar, well known for its role in the movie “Top Gun,” is home to some 10,000 Marines. It was operated by the U.S. Navy until 1996.
The cause of the crash was still under investigation.