FILE IMAGE: AV-8B Harrier II jet
A US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II jet crashed in Djibouti, in East Africa, on April 3, the US Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement. The pilot was able to eject before the crash.
“An AV-8B Harrier pilot is receiving medical care after ejecting during takeoff from from Djibouti Ambouli International Airport, Djibouti, April 3, 2018, just after 4:00 p.m. local time.
Assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 and embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, the aircraft crashed after the pilot ejected.
Doctors said the pilot was in stable condition while being evaluated at Camp Lemonnier’s expeditionary medical facility.
There are no reports of injuries to personnel on the ground nor damage to infrastructure at the airport. The airport is open.
The cause of the accident is under investigation,” the Naval Forces Central Command’s statement reads.
According to reports, the AV-8B Harrier II jet was supporting Alligator Dagger, a training exercise in international waters off the coast of Djibouti.
Some 4,000 US service members are stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/1b/1ba578cafc4f1cd64fa84c20ccfcc70273326850212913c2a144fe6e63ad08ea.jpg
Good news
The Russian birds are all powerful.
No NATO planes are safe:) USAF beware.
http://images.freeimages.com/images/premium/previews/3617/36171188-golden-double-headed-eagle-in-st-petersburg-russia.jpg
The Harrier was a brilliant aircraft in its day, 50 years ago.
It was very innovative at the time.
If the US Marine Corps didn’t insist on having a “jump jet”, perhaps they didn’t loose a lot of their pilots away from battlefield. Oh, I’m not complaining. An American pilot less means less dead innocent civilians all around the world. Sad thing to say but true (however I think it’s more of a USAF attribute). I pray for the pilot if his hands are clean of the innocent blood.
Since they adopted Harriers in 1971, they lost at least a third of it’s fleet in non-combat situations. Harriers are notorious pilot killers and they kill indiscriminately, British, Spanish, American or Indian pilots, one at a time. Well, I suppose they’re lesser killers than Ospreys that kill by 20!
PS. As you may know, a lot of F-35’s problems are the direct result of Marine Corps’s insistence on having a VTOL attack craft. Let’s wait and see if the F-35 is an equal skilled killer, when they finally adopt it.
You are assuming the thing will go operational and be effective.
They are still flying?!!!