US Navy pilot killed in crash identified. He was flying out of Lemoore Naval Air Station

The U.S. Navy pilot who was killed when his F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near Trona in San Bernardino County on Friday has been identified by officials as Lt. Richard Mackenzie Bullock.

Bullock, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 113 and based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, was flying a routine training mission when his aircraft went down in a remote, unpopulated area. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The scene has been secured by the Navy and local authorities.

Bullock, who was commissioned on Oct. 21, 2016, was from Montana.

In 2019, a Navy Super Hornet crashed in Death Valley National Park during a routine training mission, killing the pilot and slightly injuring seven park visitors who were struck by debris. They had gathered at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.

Last October, a Navy Super Hornet from Naval Air Station China Lake also crashed, and in 2020 another from Lemoore went down, both during training missions. The pilots safely ejected, one in a remote southern area of Death Valley National Park near the Nevada border and the other in the Mojave Desert.

This story was originally published June 5, 2022 at 8:38 PM.