SAN DIEGO — The pilot of an F/A-18D Hornet that crashed on the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base died, according to a press release sent by the U.S. Marine Corp.
The deceased Marine was identified as Maj. Andrew Mettler.
Mettler served as an F/A-18 Hornet pilot with VMFA(AW)-224, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 31, 2nd MAW stationed on Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. Mettler, from Georgia, commissioned in the Marine Corps on Nov. 30, 2007.
Maj. Mettler was assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA(AW)) 224. The squadron was participating in Service Level Training Exercise 5-23 according to a release by the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing on Saturday.
Search and rescue crews recovered the pilot, who was confirmed dead at the crash site.
The pilot was the only person aboard the aircraft.
The U.S. Marine Corps press release also stated: "With a heavy heart, our condolences go to the Marine’s family during this time."
The military jet incident was reported at 11:54 p.m. Thursday in a remote area east of Interstate 15 and south of Scripps Ranch.
The aircraft is not part of the 3rd MAW but was operating out of MCAS Miramar, according to the Director of Communication for MCAS Miramar, Capt. Micahel Scaccia.
The crash site was on government property east of the air station, and there were no indications of damage to property on the ground.
The F/A-18 Hornet is the nation's first all-weather fighter and attack aircraft and is considered "the workhorse of Marine Corps tactical aviation," according to Naval Air Systems Command.
The crash remains under investigation.
CBS 8 spoke to aviation expert, Kevin Karpe. He spent 31 years with the Federal Aviation Administration and nearly a decade as a Naval Air Traffic Controller. He's now the CEO of Diverse Vector Aviation Consulting.
"It could have been mechanical, could have been human, could have been a combination," he said.
In the dark of night search and rescue crews quickly found what's left of the military aircraft but it took hours and several different agencies, searching from the ground and the air - to find the Marine.
"The military conducts their own investigation, outside of the FAA - so we won't know for quite some time," Karpe added. "They will examine the crash site, replay the communications, radar - everything has to be investigated and considered. It's a timely, painstaking process putting that back together. It's a step by step, very exact and intense review," he added.
The last F/A-18 Hornet to go down in San Diego was in 2008 - slamming into a home, in University City, killing four family members inside.
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