Marine Jet Crashes in North Carolina

CAMP LEJEUNE — A Marine Corps fighter jet crashed Wednesday during a training mission in coastal North Carolina, but the pilot was able to eject before it crashed, the Corps said.

The Corps first said the pilot was uninjured, but later said he was taken to a Greensville hospital. No further details on his condition were immediately available, Marine Corps spokeswoman Master Gunnery Sgt. Constance Heinz said.

The AV-8B Harrier jet crashed around 1 p.m. after it lost engine power. The plane was assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and was stationed at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

Chris Fore, an employee at Open Ground Farm, told the Sun Journal of New Bern he saw the pilot hit the ground hard. But he said the pilot was able to use Fore's cell phone to call his wife and the base.

"He called his wife to tell her he was OK," Fore told the newspaper. "Then he called his captain and said, 'I'm down, but so is the plane.'"

He said the pilot was taken from the scene by helicopter.

The Marines said they were investigating the crash.

Two other aircraft were part of the training flight and returned safely to Cherry Point.

Meanwhile, a Navy SEAL on a training exercise was killed during a parachute jump Wednesday in Casa Grande, Ariz., said Lt. David Luckett, a public affairs officer at the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va.

The victim's body was found at a golf course in Casa Grande, about 30 miles south of Phoenix. The cause of his death was under investigation, Luckett said.

The victim was part of a group conducting training out of a National Guard facility outside Tucson.

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