A US Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jet crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego after its pilot ejected safely. The incident is significant because the F-35 is a central, high-value aircraft in the US military’s future combat fleet, and an investigation will seek to establish what caused the crash.

The aircraft came down on the base, where the wreckage caught fire and also ignited nearby vegetation; emergency crews responded to contain the blaze. The pilot is expected to survive, while the Marine Corps has not yet publicly confirmed the cause of the accident. The F-35B is the short-take-off and vertical-landing variant used by the Marines.