Crap! an F18 crashed in California. But it looks like the pilot ejected and is still alive.
The pilot was conscious and didn't appear to suffer major injuries, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The pilot was found near the jet, which crashed around noon in an unpopulated, hilly area of the base and triggered a brush fire that burned about five acres.
An eyewitness told KUSI-TV the pilot ejected after the nose of the aircraft pitched down, and that the jet plummeted straight down into the ground.
The pilot was apparently the only person aboard, Luque said.
The Marines said the plane crashed about three miles east of the airfield.
Spokeswoman Lt. Katheryn Putnam did not know if the plane was taking off or landing.
The F-18 is a supersonic jet used widely in the Marine Corps and Navy.
The amazing thing when you read stories like this is how blase we get about our military jets. We never even think about a simple problem taking them down and possiblly causing death.
So it's that much more amazing how fighter pilots deal with that risk while being shot at during war excursions too.
I do worry though that our over-budget Iraq war may be cutting into the safety repairs on equipment back home. We already know the stuff they sent to Iraq for our troops were subpar. Crappy body armor, or none at all....
Scratch that. These plains maintanance will be paid for THREE TIMES OVER if its going to profit the company doing the repairs. This war is NOT for the people of Iraq, or the safety of the people of hte US, it is for the corperations pocketbooks.
Glad to know the pilot sounds like he'll be alright though.
record.
***The thing is, if you control the Senate meetings, you control the gavel. And the gavel is a very important instrument... an instrument of power. An instrument that establishes the agenda.
Dan Quayle former Republican VP of George Bush Sr***