Two dead after fighter jets collide over Columbia River
By Andrew Kramer
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — Two Navy pilots are dead after the F-18 fighter jets they were flying collided Wednesday over the Columbia River in northeastern Oregon, Deputy Chris Fitzsimmons of the Gilliam County Sheriff's Office said.
A third crew member survived the accident and was taken to Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons said one of the persons involved was found dead on the Oregon side of the river, while the other was on the Washington side.
A Navy spokesman in San Diego said the planes may be assigned to the Pacific Fleet there, but could not confirm it. Details would be released as soon as possible, he said.
Witnesses reported hearing a "big boom," then seeing a fiery explosion in the sky, said Fitzsimmons, the agency's emergency management coordinator.
Fitzsimmons said debris landed as far away as Interstate 84, eight miles north of Arlington.
Witness Linda Williams, an employee of the Village Inn in Arlington, said one parachute landed on a hillside and one in the river.
"We felt it, like a supersonic boom, like someone ran into the building" she said. "We saw two parachutes come down."
The Oregon National Guard was preparing to send two Blackhawk helicopters to northeastern Oregon, said guard spokesman Cpt. Mike Braibish. The helicopters would provide whatever support necessary, he said.
Debris from the incident could include fuel, metal and composite carbon fibers, said Chuck Donaldson, emergency response manager for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
"Normally the fuel in those things tends to burn up in the crash or evaporate on the ground very quickly," Donaldson said.
The other material would also be unlikely to have much of an environmental impact because it is so widely dispersed, he said.
Donaldson said that anyone who comes across debris should leave it alone and report it to their local sheriff, who would then contact the military.
"They've been pretty rigorous about picking everything up after a crash," he said.
The F-18 has either one or two seats depending on the version. It was first test-flown in 1978.
It is used by the Navy and Marine Corps and several countries including Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland and Malaysia.
In the American arsenal the F-18 replaced the F-4 Phantom II, the A-7 Corsair and the A-6 Intruder as those planes were phased out of service in the 1990s.
They are designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
By Andrew Kramer
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — Two Navy pilots are dead after the F-18 fighter jets they were flying collided Wednesday over the Columbia River in northeastern Oregon, Deputy Chris Fitzsimmons of the Gilliam County Sheriff's Office said.
A third crew member survived the accident and was taken to Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons said one of the persons involved was found dead on the Oregon side of the river, while the other was on the Washington side.
A Navy spokesman in San Diego said the planes may be assigned to the Pacific Fleet there, but could not confirm it. Details would be released as soon as possible, he said.
Witnesses reported hearing a "big boom," then seeing a fiery explosion in the sky, said Fitzsimmons, the agency's emergency management coordinator.
Fitzsimmons said debris landed as far away as Interstate 84, eight miles north of Arlington.
Witness Linda Williams, an employee of the Village Inn in Arlington, said one parachute landed on a hillside and one in the river.
"We felt it, like a supersonic boom, like someone ran into the building" she said. "We saw two parachutes come down."
The Oregon National Guard was preparing to send two Blackhawk helicopters to northeastern Oregon, said guard spokesman Cpt. Mike Braibish. The helicopters would provide whatever support necessary, he said.
Debris from the incident could include fuel, metal and composite carbon fibers, said Chuck Donaldson, emergency response manager for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
"Normally the fuel in those things tends to burn up in the crash or evaporate on the ground very quickly," Donaldson said.
The other material would also be unlikely to have much of an environmental impact because it is so widely dispersed, he said.
Donaldson said that anyone who comes across debris should leave it alone and report it to their local sheriff, who would then contact the military.
"They've been pretty rigorous about picking everything up after a crash," he said.
The F-18 has either one or two seats depending on the version. It was first test-flown in 1978.
It is used by the Navy and Marine Corps and several countries including Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland and Malaysia.
In the American arsenal the F-18 replaced the F-4 Phantom II, the A-7 Corsair and the A-6 Intruder as those planes were phased out of service in the 1990s.
They are designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
