A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts routinely watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.
The crash sent dark smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his family's Panamint Springs Ranch about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and was the first to report the crash to park dispatch.
"I just saw a black mushroom cloud go up," Cassell told The Associated Press. "Typically you don't see a mushroom cloud in the desert."
A search was underway for the pilot of the single-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet that was on a routine training mission, said Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock, spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley.
"The status of the pilot is unknown at this time," Bock said about four hours after the crash.
Ambulances were sent to the crash site near Father Crowley Overlook, but it wasn't clear if anyone was transported for further medical treatment, said park spokesman Patrick Taylor. He said initial reports were that seven park visitors had minor injuries.
A military helicopter was searching for the pilot, he said.
Cassell said he heard jets flying through the area and then saw the cloud of smoke. He didn't see any parachute.
"It looked like a bomb," Cassell said. "To me that speaks of a very violent impact."
His father drove up to the area after the crash and saw a large black scorch mark and shattered parts of the jet scattered throughout the area between the parking lot and lookout, Cassell said. A nose cone from the jet was the size of a bowling ball and the rest of the debris was no larger than a ball cap.
The jet was from strike fighter squadron VFA-151 stationed at Lemoore. The squadron is part of an air group attached to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
The Super Hornet is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases on both air-superiority and ground-attack missions.
The crash site is about 160 miles (257 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Madison Keys planned to walk into the player tunnel at Rod Laver Arena in a quiet moment when nobody was watching, and take a photo of her name listed with the other champions at the Australian Open.
After beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final at Melbourne Park to win her first Grand Slam title, Keys pictured the moment she'd return to the stadium for the first time as defending champion.
“I’ve always kind of remembered walking through that tunnel and seeing all the names,” she said Friday, two days before the first major of the year starts. “It was a little bit of a pinch-me moment where I was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to be up there.’
“I have not seen my name in the tunnel yet. I hope I can go in there when there’s no one else so I can take a picture and send it to my mom."
Before facing the media in Melbourne, she couldn't help but notice other evidence at the venue of her breakthrough triumph.
“There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy," Keys said. “Getting to see those, it’s something you dream of in your career.”
The 30-year-old American said it was easy to look back almost 12 months and think everything worked to perfection, but "also you think about, ‘Wow, I almost lost.’
"I was match point down. So many three-set matches. There were some ugly matches. I think it kind of just makes everything a little bit better just because it wasn’t issue-free.”
Keys won a tune-up tournament in Adelaide in 2025 before ending Sabalenka's 20-match winning streak at the Australian Open. At 29, she was the tournament's oldest first-time women's champion. She also set a record as the player with the longest gap between their first two Grand Slam finals — her first was the 2017 U.S. Open.
The Australian Open victory launched her into a Top 5 ranking the following month. After the breakthrough, though, she was ousted in the French Open quarterfinals, the third round at Wimbledon and had a nervy first-round exit at the U.S. Open. At the season-ending WTA Finals, she lost two group-stage matches.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, admitted Friday that the loss here to Keys last year was tough.
“She played incredible and overplayed me. Took me a little time to recover,” she said. “We had matches after that. I worked on my mistake on those matches.
“Going to this AO, I’m not really focusing on that last year result but of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did last year!”
Sabalenka, who beat Keys in the quarterfinals last week en route to the Brisbane International title, plays her first-round match Sunday night against Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, a wild-card entry from France.
Keys also lost in the quarterfinals in her title defense in Adelaide earlier this week. But she's taking it in her stride as she prepares for another career first: defending a major title.
“Even though I’ve been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as that,” she said. “I’m really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."
Seeded ninth and on the other side of the draw from Sabalenka, Keys is scheduled to open against Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine.
“Yes, I’m sure going on court I’m going to be very nervous," she said, "but I don’t think I’ve ever walked on court first round of a Grand Slam and not been nervous.”
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waves to the crowd after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Madison Keyes of the United States reacts during press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
