Two Navy F-18 Hornet fighter jets collided late Monday morning while on a training exercise over Fort Hunter Liggett, California, leaving one pilot dead, according to the U.S. Navy.

The second pilot ejected and suffered minor injuries, according to Dennis McGrath, a spokesman for Naval Air Station Lemoore, where the two jets were based.

Initial reports indicated the planes may have collided, but McGrath said investigators had not yet made that determination.

"They were on an air-to-air intercept training mission," he said. "In World War II they called it dogfighting. They practice overcoming the tactics of another plane for combat purposes."

Don Sundias, a spokesman for Fort Hunter Liggett, said the two jets were flying at less than 3,000 feet when the accident took place.

The accident took place over a remote area away from houses or other buildings, although the crash started at least one small fire on the base, Sundias said. That fire has since been put out, he said.