Pentagon: 3 Dead, 1 Missing in San Diego Crash of Marine F-18 Jet

Pictured here in this 2008 file photo is an F/A-18D Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron One Twenty One (VMFA-121) as it taxis for take off following a transit stop. VMFA-121 is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. An F/A-18D Hornet jet based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., crashed yesterday into a civilian neighborhood. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Paul Farley.)

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2008 -- The crash of a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter jet in San Diego yesterday killed three people on the ground, and one person is missing, city fire officials said.

The Hornet, from Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 101 of Marine Aircraft Group 11, crashed into two houses after going down around noon PST in a neighborhood near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, officials said.

The pilot is in stable condition at Naval Medical Center San Diego, Marine officials said.

The pilot – part of the 3rd Marine Air Wing – radioed that there was trouble and tried to steer the aircraft to an uninhabited canyon, Marine officials said. But the pilot was forced to eject, and the jet crashed two miles from the airport, they said.

The jet was returning from training exercises aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln when the crash occurred.

(Report from a U.S. Defense Department news release.)

Related: Marine F-18 Jet Crashes in California Neighborhood

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