US fighter jet crashes near California military base

A US F-35 fighter jet crashed Friday near a military base in San Diego, but the pilot was able to eject before impact, officials said.

"There was an aviation mishap involving a Marine Corps F-35B in the vicinity" of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar at about 10 am (5pm GMT), a spokesman for the base told AFP.

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"The pilot was ejected and has been recovered."

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A later statement from the military base said the pilot had been transported to a medical facility "in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries."

Footage circulated on social media showing a plume of smoke rising from the aircraft, as firefighters were deployed to douse the flames.

MCAS Miramar is known around the world as the one-time home of the US Navy's "Top Gun" school for elite pilots, immortalised in the 1986 film "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise.

Each F-35B, the variant of the stealth fighter jet with vertical takeoff and landing capability, costs about $109 million, according to maker Lockheed Martin.