F 14 Airplane

Federal agents seized four F-14 Tomcat fighters in San Bernardino County on Tuesday -- three from airplane museums -- after investigators determined that the jets were not demilitarized and were improperly sold or transferred to private companies, including the producer of the TV show "JAG," authorities said.

Two Utah men are accused of trying to illegally export surplus pieces of F-14 fighter jets, a plane that is flown only by Iran. Abraham Trujillo, 61, and David Waye, 22, both of Ogden, are alleged to have tried exporting the parts to Canada, but the charges don't specify how they supposedly got the parts, nor are all buyers listed. Federal agents placed online orders, then intercepted the goods before they made it out of the country, the charges said.

U.S. Navy jets, while on training exercises over the Mediterranean on Wednesday, shot down two Libyan MIG-23 fighters when the Libyans appeared to threaten the U.S. warplanes, American officials said. The incident, which occurred about noon local time (2 a.m. PST) in international airspace, comes at a time of increasing U.S. hostility toward Libya over that nation's construction of what U.S. officials charge is a chemical weapons plant near the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Federal agents seized four F-14 Tomcat fighters in San Bernardino County on Tuesday -- three from airplane museums -- after investigators determined that the jets were not demilitarized and were improperly sold or transferred to private companies, including the producer of the TV show "JAG," authorities said.

Navy Lt. Jim Nolan can recall his first bad encounter with the F-14 Tomcat jet fighter as though it happened yesterday. It was 1992, and Nolan was flying the supersonic plane over the Virginia seacoast. Suddenly an engine caught fire. Within seconds, the flames burned through the plane's flight controls, leaving the aircraft unflyable and forcing Nolan into a risky bailout over the water. Rescued later by fishermen, he questioned whether he should continue flying at all.

An F-14 Tomcat fighter based at Miramar Naval Air Station plunged into the sea off Point Loma on Wednesday, but both crewmen ejected safely and were rescued, authorities said. It was the fourth crash of a Miramar-based F-14 since December, and the 102nd since the fighter was introduced into service in 1972. Just last week, a Miramar-based F-14 crashed near San Clemente Island. Both crewmen ejected safely. Navy spokesman Cmdr.

The Navy restricted speed and afterburner use for its F-14 jet fighters and ordered air crews to undergo refresher training in a variety of flight operations after three recent crashes. The limitations were issued to allow the troubled aircraft to resume flying. The restrictions will be in effect at least until investigations into the crashes are completed, the Navy said. The new rules suggest investigators are concerned about the F-14's behavior during low, fast flight.

House and Senate conferees Wednesday reached accord on virtually all remaining issues involving the $305-billion 1990 defense budget, trimming the "Star Wars" anti-missile program but keeping the costly and controversial B-2 Stealth bomber alive, congressional sources said. Although a number of relatively small questions remained unresolved Wednesday night, committee leaders are likely to announce the budget agreement today, sources said.

Here is a partial transcript of the Pentagon briefing Wednesday by Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci and Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the incident in which two U.S. Navy planes shot down two Libyan jet fighters over the Mediterranean Sea. Carlucci: Good morning. The chairman and I are here to present the facts of the Libyan incident, as we understand them at this point. And let me emphasize that.

A Navy investigation into a series of recent F-14 crashes is focusing on a possible afterburner problem, a defense official said Tuesday. The Navy last week ordered a total ban on the use of engine afterburners on F-14B and D models. The ban initially applied only to altitudes below 10,000 feet. The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was "reasonable to infer" from the extended ban that the probe is focusing on the afterburner.

In aviation or athletics, it is never easy to replace a legend in the lineup. Comparisons are inevitably invidious. Nostalgia and loyalty are high hurdles. And so some sympathy might be in order for the 33 tons of metal and advanced electronics called the F/A-18 Super Hornet. It has fallen to this much-debated, much-analyzed aircraft to supplant the vaunted F-14 Tomcat, the Navy plane that Tom Cruise immortalized in the 1986 movie "Top Gun."

Two American F-14 jet fighters from the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower collided over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and an aviator was killed, the Navy said. One of the planes crashed into the sea. Its two crew members ejected, but one was killed, the Navy said. The second flier suffered "a serious injury to his leg," according to a statement released in Washington. The two crew members from the second aircraft apparently were unhurt and they returned safely to the deck of the carrier.

A Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jet on a routine training flight crashed Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean, and both pilots ejected. The Navy said one was rescued and a search was underway for the other. It was the seventh military plane crash since Sept. 13. The six earlier crashes happened within a week and led to a one-day break in training flights for a safety review by all the services. The Navy jet went down about 4 p.m. about 65 miles east of Elizabeth City, N.C.

As investigators began searching for reasons why two military helicopters collided during maneuvers, a Defense Department official on Saturday defended the safety of the equipment involved, which included one of the oldest type of aircraft in military service. "These are good aircraft," said Deputy Secretary of Defense John White, who toured the crash site Saturday with senior officials. "Their safety record is very good."

Navy Lt. Jim Nolan can recall his first bad encounter with the F-14 Tomcat jet fighter as though it happened yesterday. It was 1992, and Nolan was flying the supersonic plane over the Virginia seacoast. Suddenly an engine caught fire. Within seconds, the flames burned through the plane's flight controls, leaving the aircraft unflyable and forcing Nolan into a risky bailout over the water. Rescued later by fishermen, he questioned whether he should continue flying at all.

A Navy F-14 fighter jet crashed and exploded in Virginia on Wednesday, heightening concern about the safety of the aging aircraft that has crashed four times in the last three months. Although Navy officials have said that the crash rate of the F-14 is not significantly worse than other carrier-based combat aircraft, safety experts are growing increasingly worried that the accidents could hamper the Navy's ability to perform its missions.

A Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jet on a routine training flight crashed Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean, and both pilots ejected. The Navy said one was rescued and a search was underway for the other. It was the seventh military plane crash since Sept. 13. The six earlier crashes happened within a week and led to a one-day break in training flights for a safety review by all the services. The Navy jet went down about 4 p.m. about 65 miles east of Elizabeth City, N.C.

The commander of the Navy's Pacific Air Fleet said Monday that investigators have been unable to find a common link among a string of recent crashes and he defended the controversial F-14 Tomcat, which will be the subject of a congressional probe Thursday. Vice Adm. Brent M. Bennitt said that reviews done during the recent three-day safety stand down for all 330 of the Navy's F-14s worldwide proved to the Navy's satisfaction that the F-14 is safe.

Navy and Marine Corps officials, pressed by Congress about the spate of recent crashes involving the F-14 Tomcat and AV-8B Harrier jet fighter planes, said Tuesday they have decided not to order major upgrades of those aircraft partly because of budget limitations.

An F-14 pilot was apparently showing off for his parents when his fighter jet crashed on takeoff Jan. 29, killing him and four other people, the Navy said Friday. Lt. Cmdr. John Stacy Bates, 33, became disoriented after a rapid, steep takeoff from Nashville's airport into a cloudy sky, said Rear Adm. Bernard Smith, who presented the results of a 2 1/2-month review. Bates' crew mate and three people on the ground died along with the pilot in the fiery crash.