6th FA-18 fighter crashes
Mick sends us a link to Fox News which reports that for the 6th time this year an FA-18 jet has crashed 120 miles off the coast of Japan;
A U.S. Marine Corps pilot ejected before his F/A-18 crashed near Iwakuni, Japan on Wednesday and search and rescue efforts were under way, the military announced.
The pilot ejected approximately 120 miles southeast of Iwakuni at about 6:40 p.m. local time.
[…]
The Wednesday crash was also the fourth F/A-18 mishap since October, including an incident in November when two jets collided near San Diego.
Category: Marine Corps
Ooops….
Hope the pilot is OK.
And I bet the Chinese and Russians are chortling with glee at the state of disrepair the Damn0crats have got us into.
Yeah well it’s not like the Russians haven’t been splashing their own aircraft over the last few weeks as well..
I too am saying a prayer for this pilot’s healthy recovery. Ejections are no joke.
True.
Hope they find and recover the pilot quickly, and he’s okay.
Praying for the pilot. God speed Sir.
Shit. Hope the pilot’s okay. Hope any Red Chinese who dive for it drown.
Yes, I pray the pilot is OK.
My question is how many planes have to crash for the Deputy Commandant for Aviation to lose his job? I do feel as though this is more the fault of overuse compounded by the lack of funding for upkeep, but that is the same problem the squadron commanders are facing – and they get fired.
The Marine pilot is now listed as missing, and the SAR effort continues. According to the reports, he punched out about 120 miles southeast of Iwakuni, which puts him far out to sea, in the water, alone. At night.
‘US pilot missing after ejecting from Marine Corps jet off Japan’
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/07/us-pilot-missing-after-ejecting-from-marine-corps-jet-off-japan.html
‘Crews were racing to find a U.S. Marine Corps pilot who ejected before his F/A-18 crashed off Japan, the Pentagon confirmed.
The pilot ejected approximately 120 miles southeast of Iwakuni at about 6:40 p.m. local time. The missing pilot’s wingman was forced to return to base cutting off the search, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said.
The aircraft was assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and was conducting regularly scheduled training when the “mishap” occurred.
The Marine Corps was investigating the cause of the crash.
A U.S. Navy destroyer, Curtis Wilber (DDG-54) with at least one helicopter aboard, was headed to the crash site to continue the search. Seven Japanese military aircraft were also assisting.
USNS Montford Point, an American auxiliary ship, was also taking part in the search along with three Japanese ships.
[…]’.
Prayers for a safe return.
I hope that the pilot was wearing his dry suit and that he has been able to get out of the water and into his raft.
This isn’t a good time of the year to be forced to eject and parachute into the ocean in that area.
For those who know:
When doing a SAR on a down pilot in the ocean, what resources might he have? Is there even the hope of a decent raft and a homing beacon?
Any estimated time for survival?
He has lots of signaling devices at his disposal and the training to use them. Survival depends on several factors, with water temperature. If he survived ejection and is in his raft and able to communicate, his chances are relatively good.
AW1Ed
Former Helo SAR swimmer
…water temperature the most critical, dammit.
Thanks, AW1Ed.
A lot of “if”s in there. Still a lot better than going down in the plane. We’ll just keep praying that all our “ifs” come true.
Water temps are always a factor and seldom in your favor, I suppose.
…continuing my disjointed thoughts:
From what I have read of other open ocean SAR efforts, even seeing the guy is a challenge. I hope he has some type of working radio on board.
Ejection seats used to light of an emergency beacon upon activation, and he’ll have a two-way hand set in his survival gear. Back in the days when I did this for a living, the downed aircrew would also have a one man raft, smoke and flares, a pencil flare projector, a strobe light, signal mirror, sea dye marker (color was named yum-yum yellow, of course), and brightly colored reflective tape on the helmet. I’m sure I’m omitting a couple things. The issue is one has to be physically able to use that stuff, and manual dexterity is the first thing to go in a cold environment. So thoughts and prayers are indeed in order here.
Per FNN a few minutes ago, he’s still MIA. Hope He knows millions of us are praying our knees off for him.
Prayers out for the Pilot’s safe recovery.
So just how much of the USN and USMC Aircraft Inventory is still flight-worthy today versus when the B. Hussein 0bama curse began? So many cutbacks to defense while they can’t hand enough out fast enough to illegal aliens, welfare flunkies and muzzie “refugees”!
Latest updates this morning (Thursday 08 December) report that the pilot is still missing, and that the SAR effort continues.
‘Search widens for US Marine Corps pilot who ejected from jet off Japan’
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/08/search-widens-for-us-marine-corps-pilot-who-ejected-from-jet-off-japan.html
‘The search for a Marine Corps pilot who ejected from an F/A-18 jet in southern Japan was expanded to a wider area after daybreak Thursday, the U.S. military said.
The aircraft was on a regular training mission Wednesday when the incident occurred about 120 miles southeast of Iwakuni, the Marine Corps said.
Joint search efforts with Japanese military ships and aircraft were carried out through the night.
The identity of the pilot has not been released.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the F/A-18 had been flying with another Marine Corps jet.
The Marine Corps said the aircraft was assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan.
It said the cause of the incident was under investigation.’
He’s been recovered, but they haven’t made a statement on his condition yet.
Sorry, too soon, Military.com says that his family reports that he has passed.
Jonn,
Sadly, he didn’t make it.
‘Marine Hornet Pilot Killed in Japan Crash Identified’
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/12/08/marine-hornet-pilot-killed-in-japan-identified.html?ESRC=todayinmil.sm
‘Stars and Stripes | Dec 08, 2016 | by Tara Copp
WASHINGTON — U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C pilot Capt. Jake Frederick, a beloved Texas son and father, was killed Wednesday when his fighter jet crashed off the coast of Japan, his family confirmed Thursday.
Frederick, who was based with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing on Okinawa, ejected from his aircraft at about 6:40 pm local time Wednesday. A fellow Hornet pilot who had been on the training flight remained above the site until it had to depart to refuel.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed to local media Thursday that a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship had recovered Frederick, but did not report on his condition.
Frederick was a graduate of Ray High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he met the love of his life, Kiley, his mother, Donna Frederick, said Thursday. The couple have a young son and a baby on the way, she said.
Donna Frederick said the Marines had been to her home to notify her.
Jake was “a beloved son,” Donna Frederick said. He loved waterskiing, snow skiing and tennis. “Flying was his dream,” she said. “He got to do that.”
Serving in the Marine Corps runs deep in the family, she said.
Jake Frederick’s brother, Joe Bob Frederick, is also a Marine and a C-130 Hercules pilot. He is a flight instructor in Corpus Christi. Donna Frederick’s father was also a Marine.
The Corps has not identified a cause for the crash.’