El Toro Fighter Pilot Bailed Out After Plane Developed Engine Fire

The pilot of an El Toro-based Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet that crashed in the Pacific Ocean near San Clemente Island fought to put out a fire in one of the fighter’s engines before he bailed out, Marine officials said Tuesday.

Maj. Stan Gould said 1st Lt. Thomas A. Drechsler first realized he had a problem when a fire warning light flashed on. Flames in the right engine of the jet were seen by the pilot of a companion fighter.

Drechsler, according to Gould, followed all specified procedures, cutting off fuel to the engine and triggering fire-suppression measures, but the fire continued to burn.

The pilot ejected from the $22-million plane after smoke filled the cockpit, a Marine official said. Drechsler, 25, suffered minor injuries and was in good condition Tuesday at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, where he was taken Monday night after being plucked from the ocean by a Navy rescue helicopter’s crew.

Pilot Interviewed

A safety officer from Marine Fighter-Attack Squadron 531, called the Grey Ghosts, questioned Drechsler briefly Tuesday, Marine officials said. A more extensive interview will be conducted later. Drechsler is expected to be released from the hospital today.

The single-seat fighter was on a training mission Monday evening when the crash occurred at 5:15 p.m. After Drechsler ejected, the pilot of a companion jet radioed for help; the rescue helicopter arrived about an hour later. The weather was clear and the water temperature about 60 degrees.

“The plane has a good safety record,” Gould said.

Three squadrons of the McDonnell Douglas-built attack jets are based at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The 56-foot-long Hornet is one of the mainstays of the Marine air arsenal. It is known for its agility and speed and can carry six Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and two Sparrow air-to-air missiles. It can also be equipped with a 20-millimeter cannon and 17,000-pound bombs.

Ejected Safely

Earlier this year, a pilot of an F/A-18 ejected safely before the fighter crashed on takeoff from the Twentynine Palms Marine base. Another Hornet crashed near Brawley, Imperial County, but the pilot, a member of the Blue Angels, escaped unhurt.

An El Toro-based F/A-18 crashed in January, 1986, in bad weather during a routine training mission in the Mediterranean Sea. The pilot was killed.

The year before, a F/A-18 crashed into the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Coral Sea off Cape Hatteras seconds after the El Toro-based pilot ejected.

Also in 1985, a Navy pilot died when his F/A-18 skidded and rolled over as it tried to land at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego.

An F/A-18 disappeared off Dana Point in November, 1983, and the pilot, the commander of Marine Air Group 11 at El Toro, was killed.