Aviation training on hold after mishap at 29 Palms Marine Corps Base
All aviation units participating in training at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms are on a 24-hour operational pause following Tuesday night’s mishap involving a fiery landing where a pilot escaped serious injury.
The F/A-18 Hornet caught fire shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday near the the combat center.
Marine First Lt. John Roberts tells CBS Local 2 and KESQ that the pilot ejected without injuries but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Roberts says first indications were that the plane already had touched down when the accident occurred.
The pilot is assigned to Marine Corps Station Beaufort in South Carolina was doing routine training in Southern California.
“Everybody is safe,” said Roberts, “and we’re doing an investigation into what happened and what forced the pilot to eject.”
Roberts said more information would be available in the next 12 to 24 hours. The sprawling base is in the Mojave Desert, about 140 miles east of Los Angeles.
In July, another twin-engine Hornet went down during a training mission at the base, killing the pilot.
In August, a Hornet made an emergency landing after a warning light alerted the pilot to a possible fire. The problem was traced to a seal failure that tripped on-board sensors.
