El Toro : Team to Investigate Crash of Marine Jet

A team of Marine officers has been appointed to investigate the crash of an A-4 Skyhawk jet out of the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Peg Cauley said Wednesday.

The Marines also have requested the Navy’s help in salvaging the aircraft, she said.

The pilot, who ejected from the fighter jet before it crashed into the ocean off San Clemente Island, was released Wednesday from Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego.

Lt. Col. Timothy G. Dineen, 39, of Mission Viejo, was sent to the hospital for observation after being rescued Tuesday afternoon approximately eight miles southeast of the island by a Navy rescue helicopter, Cauley said.

Dineen, the commanding officer of Fighter Attack Squadron 211 at El Toro Marine Base, was on a routine training mission when he ejected from the single-engine jet at 3:55 p.m. Tuesday, Sgt. R.W. Turner said.

Dineen was rescued 45 minutes after he landed in the water, Cauley said

The parachute gear Dineen used was equipped with an inflatable raft, Cauley said. “As soon as he got into the raft, he was in contact with a civilian aircraft.”

Cauley described Dineen as “a very experienced pilot” who had accumulated 4,100 flight hours on 36 different aircraft models.

Dineen, contacted Wednesday, would not comment on the crash.