Harrier Airplane

Their average age was 30. They came from 24 states and the District of Columbia. Thirty-three were married and three were engaged. They left behind 38 children and five on the way. They are the 45 Marines who have died in Harrier accidents during the jump jet's 31 years of U.S. service. Two more Marines were killed when their Harriers were shot down during the Persian Gulf War. With the exception of Lt. Stephen J. Chetneky, a flight surgeon, all were pilots.

For the second time in a month and the 152nd time in 34 years of flight, a Marine Corps Harrier attack jet has crashed during a noncombat mission, this time in heavily forested eastern North Carolina. As in each of the 11 most recent crashes, the pilot in the doomed plane ejected Thursday evening without suffering significant injuries. He landed in a wooded area near the southern end of Pamlico Sound, not far from the plane's base in Cherry Point, N.C., said Lt.

Though many had died flying the Harrier, Marine Corps pilot Peter E. Yount never thought it would let him down. He knew the attack jet well and was devoted to it. In the entire U.S. arsenal, only the compact, muscular-looking Harrier could lift straight up off a runway, hover like a hummingbird, then blast off in search of targets. "Difficult but honest" is how Yount described it. But on a clear spring day in 1998, the Harrier would betray him.

Despite assertions by the Marine Corps that its crash-plagued AV-8B Harrier attack jet is safe, House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) said Wednesday that he would create a task force to investigate a spate of recent accidents. Hunter made his remarks at a committee hearing on escalating military aviation accidents. Even though five Harriers crashed last year, Brig. Gen. Samuel T.

Through the viewfinder of his mother's video camera, Jeffrey Smith looked the picture of Marine Corps confidence in the moments before takeoff on June 29, 1992. Fit and trim in his olive flight suit and aviator shades, the 29-year-old pilot flashed a Tom Cruise smile as he made his final preflight checks. He walked around the wings of his AV-8B Harrier, inspected the flaps and climbed nearly all the way into the huge conical intakes, surveying the fan blades for any hint of damage.

For the second time in a month and the 152nd time in 34 years of flight, a Marine Corps Harrier attack jet has crashed during a noncombat mission, this time in heavily forested eastern North Carolina. As in each of the 11 most recent crashes, the pilot in the doomed plane ejected Thursday evening without suffering significant injuries. He landed in a wooded area near the southern end of Pamlico Sound, not far from the plane's base in Cherry Point, N.C., said Lt.

Odd as it may seem, the first thought that crossed Lt. Col. John W. Capito's mind as he felt the initial lash of freezing rain at 15,000 feet was of the 8-year-old boy at the airfield. "Have you ever had to eject?" the youngster had asked as Capito prepared to jet off in his AV-8B Harrier. "No, kid," the 39-year-old Marine told him. "That never really happens." Capito knew better. Harrier pilots must always be prepared for an unscheduled ride up the rails.

Despite assertions by the Marine Corps that its crash-plagued AV-8B Harrier attack jet is safe, House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) said Wednesday that he would create a task force to investigate a spate of recent accidents. Hunter made his remarks at a committee hearing on escalating military aviation accidents. Even though five Harriers crashed last year, Brig. Gen. Samuel T.

He was the best they had. Earlier in his career, the Marines had entrusted Lt. Col. Keith M. Sweaney with the president's life: He flew the Marine One helicopter. Now, at 42, he was leading the team charged with evaluating the V-22 Osprey, an experimental aircraft intended to replace Vietnam-era helicopters. Next, he was to command the first tactical Osprey squadron.

A U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jump jet crashed into the Red Sea during a night training mission, the U.S. Central Command said Wednesday. The pilot of the AV-8B jet ejected safely and was recovered unhurt by a small boat from the tank-landing ship Manitowoc. The Harrier was flying from the amphibious assault ship Nassau. The command withheld the pilot's name and other details of the crash.

The House Armed Services Committee, alarmed by air crashes both overseas and at home, plans to hear testimony next week on problems with the Marine Corps Harrier attack jet and other aging aircraft. Though overall military aviation safety has improved during the last decade, the number of major accidents is on the rise, committee members said. For instance, 57 aircraft were destroyed in 2002 -- more than double the previous year -- killing 61 pilots and passengers.

This week's crash of a Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier attack jet, the second in five days and the fifth this year, has prompted renewed concern about the accident-prone plane at the Pentagon and in Congress. Despite assurances by Marine officials to key lawmakers last January that the corps had taken steps to lower the Harrier's historically high accident rate, the five serious crashes this year are the most for the plane since 1999.

For the fifth time in 16 months, a Marine Corps Harrier attack jet has crashed during a training mission, reinforcing the aircraft's reputation as the most dangerous plane flown by the U.S. military. The pilot ejected from the plane late Wednesday afternoon before it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean about 40 miles off the North Carolina coastline, a Marine Corps spokesman said. 1st Lt. D.A. Shipley, 30, from Twentynine Palms, Calif.

An AV-8B Harrier attack jet that crashed into North Carolina's Pamlico River last year may have been felled by a tiny piece of debris left behind after mechanics repaired a fuel leak, a Marine Corps investigation has determined. The pilot ejected safely, but the $28.2-million plane was destroyed. It was one of three major accidents in 2002 involving the crash-prone Harrier, which can take off and land vertically.

A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier became one of the first U.S. military jets lost during the war in Iraq, when it crashed Tuesday while on a night training mission, the U.S. Central Command here said. The Harrier was attempting to land on the U.S. amphibious assault ship Nassau in the northern Persian Gulf at 7:40 p.m. local time. The pilot, who parachuted into the water after ejecting, was listed in fair condition after being picked up by a Navy search and rescue helicopter. His name was withheld.

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House panel that funds the Pentagon said he will begin an inquiry into whether the Marine Corps' crash-prone Harrier attack jet should continue flying. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), who heads the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, said in an interview that he will press the Marines to justify the need for their signature jump jet and provide assurances that the aircraft's performance will not continue to be a "disaster."

The Marine Corps has grounded about half of its AV-8B Harrier jump jets while it investigates two crashes in the last two weeks. In all, 84 planes were grounded. The planes have the same Rolls-Royce engine model as the aircraft involved in the crashes.

The Marine Corps has begun to ground its AV-8B Harrier jets because of failures in on-board sensor systems supplied by Northrop Corp., which pleaded guilty in February to criminal charges of falsifying tests of the equipment, congressional sources said Monday.

The incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Tuesday he will hold "a robust set of hearings" early this year on military aviation safety, focusing on the Marine Corps' accident-prone Harrier attack jet. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), who is expected to be elected chairman today, said the Harrier's safety problems have placed a spotlight on a broader concern that aging U.S. aircraft are putting pilots at undue risk. "We send these people out," he said in an interview.

He was the best they had. Earlier in his career, the Marines had entrusted Lt. Col. Keith M. Sweaney with the president's life: He flew the Marine One helicopter. Now, at 42, he was leading the team charged with evaluating the V-22 Osprey, an experimental aircraft intended to replace Vietnam-era helicopters. Next, he was to command the first tactical Osprey squadron.