US F-18 jet crashes in San Diego

WASHINGTON: A US Marine Corps F-18 fighter jet crashed in a San Diego neighbourhood on Monday, a Marine spokesman in Washington said.
 
Captain Carl Redding could not confirm whether there were injuries or reports that the pilot or pilots had ejected from the plane. The Marine Corps flies F-18s out of the Miramar Naval Air Station in the San Diego area.
 
Television pictures showed a thick pall of white smoke rising from the houses, and a tangles heap of wreckage lying in the tree-lined street. Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion seconds before the crash, indicating that the pilot had ejected.
 
San Diego Police spokeswoman Monica Munoz said it was initially unclear how many houses had been impacted by the crashed plane.
 
"At this point the indication is that the only person who may be injured is the pilot, and there were no other crew on the aircraft and we know that there were no munitions on the aircraft either," Munoz said.
 
"The first thing I heard was an explosion like a gunshot which was the pilot ejecting followed seconds later by the crash," said local resident Ben Dishman. He estimated that the plane had hit two or three houses.
 
Miramar was the setting for the movie "Top Gun".