Marine pilot killed in Harrier jet crash

Vehicles full of Marine Corps investigators head towards the site of a AV-8B Harrier crash about a mile from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, N.C. on Dec. 29.


Marine pilot killed in Harrier jet crash
Staff and wire report
Posted : Monday Dec 29, 2008 17:41:34 EST

HAVELOCK, N.C. — A Marine pilot was killed Monday when an AV-8B Harrier jet crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

The single-seat Harrier, from Marine Attack Training Squadron 203, crashed in the woods approximately one mile east of the air station, near N.C. 101. The crash occurred as the pilot was returning from a routine training flight, according to an air station spokeswoman.

The name of the pilot was not released. Local authorities said the crash did not affect any of the few homes in the area.

Another AV-8B Harrier, which can hover and take off or land vertically, crashed in February near the air station. The pilot in that crash was not injured.

Monday’s mishap comes on the heels of a deadly Dec. 8 crash in San Diego, in which an F/A-18D Hornet plunged into a neighborhood near MCAS Miramar. Although the pilot ejected safely, four people on the ground were killed.


Article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/12/marine_crash_122908w/%2e