Georgia native Marine Corps pilot killed in jet crash near San Diego base

This May 14, 2020, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps shows the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. A military jet crashed near the base and a search-and-rescue operation was underway, the U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement early Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. The F/A-18 went down on Thursday, Aug. 24, in the vicinity of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, according to a base press release. (Lance Cpl. Julian Elliott-Drouin/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

The U.S. military has identified the Marine Corps pilot killed Thursday when his combat jet crashed near a San Diego base during a training flight.

Georgia native Maj. Andrew Mettler was piloting an F/A-18D Hornet when it went down at 11:54 p.m. Thursday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement from its headquarters in Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Searchers recovered Mettler’s body at the site, and the crash remains under investigation.