Crew Ejects Safely as Marine Fighter Plane Crashes Into Ocean

A Marine fighter plane based at the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro crashed at sea about 1,400 miles off the Southern California coast Saturday morning after having mechanical trouble, but both crew members ejected safely and were rescued.

The plane, a Marine A-6E, was part of Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 121, which was attached to the aircraft carrier Ranger for maneuvers in the Pacific. The ship was en route to its home base in San Diego from Hawaii when the plane went down.

The two crew members on the plane, who apparently suffered no major injuries, were treated aboard the Ranger and were being kept under observation until the ship arrives in San Diego, according to 1st Lt. Tim Hoyle, spokesman for the El Toro Marine base. The names of the two men were not released Saturday.

The plane was going through routine training operations on the trip home, Hoyle said.

“It’s a way to kill time on the way home, but it also helps to keep the pilots sharp,” Hoyle said.

Hoyle said the plane’s crew reported difficulty during its landing approach about six nautical miles off the ship’s stern and said they were about to eject. They were rescued by a helicopter from the Ranger.

The Ranger was part of a major Pacific operation called Rimpact ‘86, a naval exercise involving ships from the United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain and Australia. It included 50,000 seamen and more than 50 ships and 250 aircraft.

The cause of the El Toro plane’s crash is under investigation, Hoyle said. The families of the two crew members were notified Saturday that the two men were safe.