yesterday
LOS
ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley
National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook
where aviation enthusiasts watch military pilots speeding low through a
chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.
The crash sent dark
smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his
family’s Panamint Springs Resort about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and
was the first to report the crash to park dispatch.
“I just saw a
black mushroom cloud go up,” Cassell told The Associated Press.
“Typically you don’t see a mushroom cloud in the desert.”
A search
was underway for the pilot of the single-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet that
was on a routine training mission, said Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock,
spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Lemoore in California’s Central
Valley.
“The status of the pilot is unknown at this time,” Bock said about four hours after the crash.
A military helicopter searched for the pilot.
Ambulances
were sent to the crash site near Father Crowley Overlook, said park
spokesman Patrick Taylor. He said initial reports were that seven park
visitors had minor injuries. KABC-TV
spoke to tourists who said they were treated for minor burns and cuts
from flying fragments after the plane crashed and exploded.
The
injured tourists told the news station they were taking photos of the
sweeping landscape when the jet screamed into view and suddenly slammed
into the canyon wall.
The lookout point about 160 miles (257
kilometers) north of Los Angeles is popular with photographers and
aviation buffs who gawk at jets flying in the steep, narrow canyon.
U.S.
and foreign militaries train pilots and test jets in the gorge
officially called Rainbow Canyon near the park’s western entrance.
Military flights there date back to World War II.
The chasm got
its nickname because mineral-rich soil and red, gray and pink walls
bring to mind the home planet of “Star Wars” character Luke Skywalker.
Training
flights are almost a daily feature with jets thundering below the rim
of the canyon and passing so close viewers can see the pilots’ facial
expressions.
Cassell said he heard jets roaring through the area and then saw the cloud of smoke.
“It looked like a bomb,” Cassell said. “To me that speaks of a very violent impact.”
A jet that was following the downed craft pulled up and began circling, Cassell said. He didn’t see any parachute.
His
father drove up to the area after the crash and saw a large black
scorch mark and shattered parts of the jet scattered throughout the area
between the parking lot and lookout, Cassell said. A nose cone from the
jet was the size of a bowling ball and the rest of the debris was no
larger than a ball cap.
The jet was from strike fighter squadron
VFA-151 stationed at Lemoore. The squadron is part of an air group
attached to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
The Super
Hornet is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft
carriers or ground bases on both air-superiority and ground-attack
missions.
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