Military officials have confirmed that an AV-8B Harrier Jet crashed into a neighborhood in Imperial, California at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, eight homes had been evacuated and another three had been destroyed by fire. While no injuries were reported, the pilot was taken to the hospital for observation.
"It felt like a bomb was thrown in the backyard," said Imperial resident Adriana Ramos, who lives less than a block from the crash site.
Jose Santos, who was driving through the neighborhood shortly before the incident, said the plane was flying “really low” and then appeared to freefall.
The AV-8B Harrier had been stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The cause of the crash remains unclear, pending an investigation.
In July of 2012, another AV-8B from the same base crashed into a remote area outside of Phoenix, Arizona.
The City of Imperial is located about 90 miles east of San Diego County between El Centro and Brawley. It has a population of about 16,000.
Read more about Wednesday’s crash here.