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F-18 Super Hornet Down in USA
The commander of Naval Air Station Lemoore said an investigation could take a month or more to determine what caused Wednesdays fighter jet crash that killed two people aboard.
A two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet was on a training flight when it crashed at 12:08 p.m. on a farm about a half mile west of the base, just across the Fresno County border, Navy officials said.
It went down in a cleared field, so there was no significant property damage nor was anyone on the ground injured, Capt. James Knapp, the bases commanding officer, said during a brief news conference a few hours after the crash.
The plane carried a pilot and a weapons officer. Knapp said their names wouldnt be disclosed until after their next of kin are notified of what happened.
He didnt take questions from reporters.
Cmdr. Pauline Storum, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Forces in Coronado, said Wednesday afternoon that she hadn't been told whether anyone aboard the Super Hornet reported any problems to air traffic controllers before the crash or if the aviators aboard attempted to eject.
Knapp said the fighter took off from NAS Lemoore for routine training flight and was supposed to land there.
The plane is part of the Strike Fighter Squadron 122. Hornets at Lemoore are assigned to Navy aircraft carriers on the West Coast.
Knapp said the Super Hornets at his base are the newest in the Navy, but officials with the Navy and the Boeing Company the aircrafts manufacturer contacted Wednesday said they didnt know the age of the plane that crashed or the general ages of the Lemoores fleet.
No mention was made of a possible cause of the crash, and Knapp said Naval Safety Center officials, along with representatives from the squadron, will investigate it and inspect the wreckage, a process that could take about a month.
Their findings will be used to try to determine a cause as well as make recommendations to senior service officials that could help prevent more such crashes in the future, he said.
I ask that you have your thoughts and prayers for the family, the friends and shipmates of these two fine naval officers, and that you remember that they represent the very best of this nation, Knapp told reporters.
UPDATE: Two killed in F/A-18 jet crash near Lemoore NAS | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register | visaliatimesdelta.com
The commander of Naval Air Station Lemoore said an investigation could take a month or more to determine what caused Wednesdays fighter jet crash that killed two people aboard.
A two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet was on a training flight when it crashed at 12:08 p.m. on a farm about a half mile west of the base, just across the Fresno County border, Navy officials said.
It went down in a cleared field, so there was no significant property damage nor was anyone on the ground injured, Capt. James Knapp, the bases commanding officer, said during a brief news conference a few hours after the crash.
The plane carried a pilot and a weapons officer. Knapp said their names wouldnt be disclosed until after their next of kin are notified of what happened.
He didnt take questions from reporters.
Cmdr. Pauline Storum, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Forces in Coronado, said Wednesday afternoon that she hadn't been told whether anyone aboard the Super Hornet reported any problems to air traffic controllers before the crash or if the aviators aboard attempted to eject.
Knapp said the fighter took off from NAS Lemoore for routine training flight and was supposed to land there.
The plane is part of the Strike Fighter Squadron 122. Hornets at Lemoore are assigned to Navy aircraft carriers on the West Coast.
Knapp said the Super Hornets at his base are the newest in the Navy, but officials with the Navy and the Boeing Company the aircrafts manufacturer contacted Wednesday said they didnt know the age of the plane that crashed or the general ages of the Lemoores fleet.
No mention was made of a possible cause of the crash, and Knapp said Naval Safety Center officials, along with representatives from the squadron, will investigate it and inspect the wreckage, a process that could take about a month.
Their findings will be used to try to determine a cause as well as make recommendations to senior service officials that could help prevent more such crashes in the future, he said.
I ask that you have your thoughts and prayers for the family, the friends and shipmates of these two fine naval officers, and that you remember that they represent the very best of this nation, Knapp told reporters.
UPDATE: Two killed in F/A-18 jet crash near Lemoore NAS | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register | visaliatimesdelta.com
