An F-35 went down 25 miles northeast of Indian Springs, inside the NTTR. According to the U.S. Air Force, the pilot ejected safely and was treated for minor injuries.
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter jet crashed during a mission over the Nevada Test & Training Range (NTTR) on Mar. 31, 2026. The U.S. Air Force confirmed in a statement that the pilot ejected safely and is being treated for minor injuries.
Initial reports emerged on social media noted the departure of an HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, reportedly responding to a downed pilot at a crash site.
“STING is inbound to the crash site”.
— Mickey (@Airsquad9) March 31, 2026
Radio listeners also added that the helicopter launched twice with a RESCUE callsign, responding to an aircraft crash. They also mentioned a flight, with callsign GRAVE, relaying information about an inflight emergency which saw the aircraft being “uncontrollable under 150 kts.”
I’ve been monitoring this all afternoon. AF RESCUE500 has departed Nellis twice towards the potential crash area since the initial Aircraft Crash incident report (since updated to “Medical Emergency”).@CCFOC1 initially caught GRAVE4 on his scanner with an IFE. GRAVE1 was… https://t.co/lkpBVia9XP pic.twitter.com/8DVVbrxPmm
— Parker A. (@Parker_008) March 31, 2026
We can’t independently confirm if the aircraft suffering this inflight emergency was the F-35 that crashed. The official causes of the incident are currently unknown and an investigation has likely been already launched.
On March 31st 2026, a United States Air Force F-35A Lightning II crashed during a routine training mission over the Nevada Test and Training Range north of Nellis AFB.
The pilot successfully ejected using the Martin-Baker US16E Ejection Seat.#engineeringforlife pic.twitter.com/6uIBTuBwgw
— Martin-Baker (@MB_EjectEject) April 1, 2026
The statement provided to news outlets by Nellis AFB’s 57th Wing, which oversees the NTTR, confirms that the F-35 belongs to the base. “The incident occurred approximately 25 miles northeast of Indian Springs, Nevada, within the controlled airspace and restricted federal property of the Nevada Test & Training Range,” adds the statement, with “no impact to populated areas.”
The location mentioned in the statement would put the crash site on the mountain ranges northeast of Creech Air Force Base, which is almost directly across Indian Springs, with only a highway separating them.
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