Washington, July 31 -- A US Navy F-35 fighter jet crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California on Wednesday at around 6:30 pm local time, according to a Navy press statement. The pilot ejected safely and the cause of the crash is being investigated, as per the statement.

"NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation. At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 Rough Raiders went down not far from NAS Lemoore. We can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel," read a statement issued by the Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore.

According to the US Navy, the aircraft was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron VF-125, a Fleet Replacement S...