Overview
- An F‑18 struck trees and crashed on the south side of Rimrock Lake on June 13, sending smoke into the sky and sparking a wildfire that forced local evacuations.
- The pilot ejected and walked from the woods covered in blood before approaching Yakima County deputies and telling them he felt “very, very lucky to be alive.”
- Yakima County bodycam released in mid‑August shows the pilot saying he had been doing low‑level circles over the lake, that he “tucked in,” and that he could not fully recall what happened when he hit the trees.
- Military investigators have an open Class A mishap probe into the June crash and the footage has intensified oversight by the Pentagon’s Aviation Mishap Task Force and the Government Accountability Office.
- The loss met the military’s $2.5 million threshold for a Class A mishap and adds to a growing tally of non‑combat fighter-jet incidents that could prompt changes to training, maintenance funding, and safety oversight.