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Pilot hurt slightly in FA-18 crash in CaliforniaFrom Staff and AP ReportsThe pilot escaped serious injury Tuesday when a Marine Corps FA-18C Hornet based in San Diego crashed during desert exercises near El Centro.The crash occurred about 9:30 a.m. about 15 miles northwest of El Centro, a Marine Corps spokeswoman said.Capt. Michael P. Jeffries, the pilot, ejected and sustained only minor injuries.The jet was part of a two-plane mission conducting an air-to-ground exercise over a bombing range known as Restricted Area 25-10, which is southwest of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range.The pilot of the second plane saw the crash and reported it to ground crews who located and picked up Jeffries.The Hornet jet was part of Marine Fighter Squadron 323, which moved from Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Santa Ana to Miramar in May.The squadron’s last major accident occurred in May 1995.So far this year, 10 Marine jets and helicopters have crashed.Last week, Gen. Charles Kru-lak, the Marine Corps commandant, ordered a two-day halt to nonessential flights after a Yuma-based AV-8B Harrier crashed into a citrus grove near Yuma.The pilot, Maj. Thomas P. Mudge, ejected safely.In a brief written statement, Krulak said he ordered that aviation squadrons review all maintenance and operational procedures to correct “any discrepancies that put Marine air crews and aircraft at unnecessary risk.”Krulak said there was no common cause yet apparent in the recent string of crashes.The latest crash will be investigated by a board of military officials, officials said.A week before the Harrier crash, a CH-46 transport helicopter in Yuma for the Weapons and Tactics Instructors Course crashed at MCAS.On Feb. 29, another Yuma-based Harrier crashed during a training flight.Staff Writer Mtohate Cohan contributed te this report.
Newspaper Details
Yuma Sun
Yuma, Arizona, US
Wed, Apr 03, 1996
Page 4
Full Page
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Yuma C.
AZ, USA 10 Aug 2023
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