The pilot of a military jet in training that crashed into a nearby agricultural field in a Southern California naval base on Wednesday was declared dead on scene.

Remains of the military aircraft Hawker Hunter MK.58 are barely seen amidst the smoke after it crashed at around 5:15 on Wednesday afternoon as it was preparing to land at the Naval Station in Ventura County.

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Being the only person aboard the downed jet, the pilot, whose identity remains undisclosed, was the only human casualty during the incident.

According to Ventura County fire Capt. Mike Lindbery, no other person on the ground where the jet crashed had been hurt.

"Fortunately nobody was in that portion of the field," Lindbery told the media late on Wednesday.

Kimberly Gearhart, the Naval Station Ventura County Public Affairs Officer, explained that the downed jet was just concluding a training exercise where it played the role of an enemy aircraft during an offshore training.

According to Gearhart, it is still unclear whether the pilot radioed problems with the jet before it crashed in the fields about 65 miles from Los Angeles, California.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Allen Kenitzer stated that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently probing the cause of the crash.

The Hawker Hunter MK.58, a single-seat British-built plane, was identified to be owned by Virginia-based company Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. (ATAC).

According to reports, ATAC is the military's main provider of aerial training and also manages the Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School.

ATAC spokesperson Matt Bannon said in a statement that the company has temporarily ceased flight operations while investigations on the crash are being made and extended their condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased pilot.

The crashed plane, a swept-wing fighter ground attack plane which was designed during the 1950s, was described by ATAC as "one of the classic fighter designs of all time" with over 2,000 jets manufactured.

Tagspilot, Dead, military plane, training, Hawker Hunter MK.58, Los Angeles, Southern California