I don't see any postings on this yet so... a Harrier went down today at MCAS Yuma. The basics: Pilot ejected safely, aircraft landed/crushed fence between a couple houses. It was apparently on its way back when it went down just outside the base. The Harrier was still carrying 4 500Lb bombs and 300 rounds of 25mm when it crashed. As of right now 1500-1800 people are not allowed in their homes as they have only recovered 3 out of the 4 bombs. It's good to hear that the pilot made it out okay.
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Harrier Crash
- Thread starter Geoff08
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Super18Ordie
F/A-18 Ordnanceman
Carolina lawn dart strikes again
Here's an article about the accident...
Marine jet with bombs crashes into Yuma yard
Pilot safe; 1 on ground injured; house set ablaze
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 16, 2005 10:02 AM
A U.S. Marine Corps pilot parachuted to safety Wednesday as his bomb-laden jet crashed into a residential section of Yuma, setting at least one house afire.
One civilian suffered a minor cut, and the pilot was taken to a hospital for the treatment of minor injuries, authorities said.
Police evacuated the central-city neighborhood while firefighters put down flames, cooled the bombs with water and gathered live ammunition.
A witness who narrowly escaped the blaze said rounds were exploding in the wreckage as she fled.
"The airplane hit and exploded in my yard," said Stacey Pavlak, 21, who was housesitting while her parents were away on a camping trip. "The whole back yard was just blazing fire. I ran outside. The house was full of black smoke.
"There was live ammunition on board," she said. "You could hear it going off, like somebody was firing. I just wanted to get out of there."
The AV-8B Harrier was returning from a training mission, still armed with the four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25mm ammunition.
Military authorities recovered all four bombs, none of which exploded in the 2:49 p.m. crash, said Marine Corps Lt. Beatriz Yarrish.
James Stover, public affairs manager for the city of Yuma, said about 300 personnel from the Marine base were walking shoulder to shoulder early Thursday as they searched the area for debris and 25mm ammunition. "The majority of the ammunition has been accounted for," he said. "This is again to make sure there are no loose ends."
Bobbie O'Neill, 82, who lives about four houses from the crash site, said she was returning from the grocery store when the Harrier went down.
"The place was absolute shambles," O'Neill said. "I was crying a little bit. ... Cops were running all over the place. It was a madhouse."
Kevin Halloran, another resident of the neighborhood, said the plane sounded like a World War II "Buzz Bomb" as it came down.
"It was backfiring and stuttering, and I knew the plane was going to crash," he said at a Red Cross shelter at the nearby Gila Vista Junior High School Wednesday night.
"Then I heard the explosion when it hit the ground. I ran out with just my stockings on and started beating down doors to get people to leave. When the ammunition started going off it sounded like Jiffy Pop popcorn in a microwave."
Halloran said he hid behind concrete walls in the neighborhood so that he wasn't hit by the ammunition rounds going off in the fire. He said the flames from the crash "were taller than the houses, nearly reaching the tops of the pine trees."
Police Capt. Tim Shaw said a house in the 1500 block of East Ocotillo Court sustained the most damage and caught fire, but he did not know if anyone was home at the time.
Pavlak said her parents' home in the 1500 block of East Kuns Court is directly north of the Marine Corps runway. "I could hear the plane and I thought, 'That sounds louder than normal,' " she said. "Then I heard a loud scraping and tearing. . . . I'm still shaking."
Yuma Fire Department spokesman Steve Legros confirmed that at least one person on the ground was hurt and drove to a local hospital for treatment.
Legros estimated that 1,300 homes were evacuated, with some residents sheltered at the junior high school. By 10 p.m., residents from all but 52 homes were allowed to return to their homes, said Kevin Tunell, spokesman for the city's emergency operations center.
Residents of the 52 properties that remained evacuated Thursday would be allowed to trickle back in as their respective areas were cleared, Stover said.
A spokesman for the Yuma Air Station, Cpl. Michael Nease, said the flyer, a member of Marine Attack Squadron 513, was taken to a hospital for evaluation. "The pilot ejected safely," the spokesman said. "He was able to walk around."
Nease said the cause of the accident is unknown and will be the subject of a military investigation.
He said the AV-8B Harrier was returning from a training mission, still armed with the four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25mm ammunition. He said it is not unusual for jets from the Air Station to fly over the city with live munitions.
According to a Marine Corps Web site, the single-seat Harrier is a multipurpose attack jet capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. Its primary function is to destroy surface targets, but it also is used for reconnaissance, helicopter escort and other duties.
The $23.7 million aircraft, which is about 43 feet long with a 30-foot wingspan, may be armed with a variety of weapons, including laser-guided bombs, Maverick missiles, heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles, cluster munitions and a Gatling gun.
Nease described the AV-8B as "a pretty reliable aircraft." He said three others have crashed in the past few years at the Yuma base, which has about 64 jets.
Two years ago, the Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for stories on Harrier crashes. The Times reported 45 non-combat deaths in 143 major accidents over 31 years of service, an accident rate "significantly higher than those of comparable combat planes."
The Times said the Harrier has "daredevil appeal" for pilots, which makes it "both the most captivating and the most dangerous plane in the U.S. military."
Commanders of the Yuma base and Marine Attack Squadron 513 could not be reached for comment.
Marine jet with bombs crashes into Yuma yard
Pilot safe; 1 on ground injured; house set ablaze
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 16, 2005 10:02 AM
A U.S. Marine Corps pilot parachuted to safety Wednesday as his bomb-laden jet crashed into a residential section of Yuma, setting at least one house afire.
One civilian suffered a minor cut, and the pilot was taken to a hospital for the treatment of minor injuries, authorities said.
Police evacuated the central-city neighborhood while firefighters put down flames, cooled the bombs with water and gathered live ammunition.
A witness who narrowly escaped the blaze said rounds were exploding in the wreckage as she fled.
"The airplane hit and exploded in my yard," said Stacey Pavlak, 21, who was housesitting while her parents were away on a camping trip. "The whole back yard was just blazing fire. I ran outside. The house was full of black smoke.
"There was live ammunition on board," she said. "You could hear it going off, like somebody was firing. I just wanted to get out of there."
The AV-8B Harrier was returning from a training mission, still armed with the four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25mm ammunition.
Military authorities recovered all four bombs, none of which exploded in the 2:49 p.m. crash, said Marine Corps Lt. Beatriz Yarrish.
James Stover, public affairs manager for the city of Yuma, said about 300 personnel from the Marine base were walking shoulder to shoulder early Thursday as they searched the area for debris and 25mm ammunition. "The majority of the ammunition has been accounted for," he said. "This is again to make sure there are no loose ends."
Bobbie O'Neill, 82, who lives about four houses from the crash site, said she was returning from the grocery store when the Harrier went down.
"The place was absolute shambles," O'Neill said. "I was crying a little bit. ... Cops were running all over the place. It was a madhouse."
Kevin Halloran, another resident of the neighborhood, said the plane sounded like a World War II "Buzz Bomb" as it came down.
"It was backfiring and stuttering, and I knew the plane was going to crash," he said at a Red Cross shelter at the nearby Gila Vista Junior High School Wednesday night.
"Then I heard the explosion when it hit the ground. I ran out with just my stockings on and started beating down doors to get people to leave. When the ammunition started going off it sounded like Jiffy Pop popcorn in a microwave."
Halloran said he hid behind concrete walls in the neighborhood so that he wasn't hit by the ammunition rounds going off in the fire. He said the flames from the crash "were taller than the houses, nearly reaching the tops of the pine trees."
Police Capt. Tim Shaw said a house in the 1500 block of East Ocotillo Court sustained the most damage and caught fire, but he did not know if anyone was home at the time.
Pavlak said her parents' home in the 1500 block of East Kuns Court is directly north of the Marine Corps runway. "I could hear the plane and I thought, 'That sounds louder than normal,' " she said. "Then I heard a loud scraping and tearing. . . . I'm still shaking."
Yuma Fire Department spokesman Steve Legros confirmed that at least one person on the ground was hurt and drove to a local hospital for treatment.
Legros estimated that 1,300 homes were evacuated, with some residents sheltered at the junior high school. By 10 p.m., residents from all but 52 homes were allowed to return to their homes, said Kevin Tunell, spokesman for the city's emergency operations center.
Residents of the 52 properties that remained evacuated Thursday would be allowed to trickle back in as their respective areas were cleared, Stover said.
A spokesman for the Yuma Air Station, Cpl. Michael Nease, said the flyer, a member of Marine Attack Squadron 513, was taken to a hospital for evaluation. "The pilot ejected safely," the spokesman said. "He was able to walk around."
Nease said the cause of the accident is unknown and will be the subject of a military investigation.
He said the AV-8B Harrier was returning from a training mission, still armed with the four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25mm ammunition. He said it is not unusual for jets from the Air Station to fly over the city with live munitions.
According to a Marine Corps Web site, the single-seat Harrier is a multipurpose attack jet capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. Its primary function is to destroy surface targets, but it also is used for reconnaissance, helicopter escort and other duties.
The $23.7 million aircraft, which is about 43 feet long with a 30-foot wingspan, may be armed with a variety of weapons, including laser-guided bombs, Maverick missiles, heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles, cluster munitions and a Gatling gun.
Nease described the AV-8B as "a pretty reliable aircraft." He said three others have crashed in the past few years at the Yuma base, which has about 64 jets.
Two years ago, the Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for stories on Harrier crashes. The Times reported 45 non-combat deaths in 143 major accidents over 31 years of service, an accident rate "significantly higher than those of comparable combat planes."
The Times said the Harrier has "daredevil appeal" for pilots, which makes it "both the most captivating and the most dangerous plane in the U.S. military."
Commanders of the Yuma base and Marine Attack Squadron 513 could not be reached for comment.
junfan26 said:
the plan is to start replacing Hornets first in 2012.
The Harriers are all upgraded, have the best avionics of any fleet aircraft, and are as capable as any other plane. The Hornets are starting to get trapped out and spare parts aren't as plentiful as the Navy converts to rhinos.
At least that's the word we're hearing. But the peanut gallery, as always, has the straight gouge.
A video of the crash has surfaced as well (not the highest quality)...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/...Headline=Military Jet Crashed in Neighborhood
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/...Headline=Military Jet Crashed in Neighborhood
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