2 Navy Fliers Eject Safely in F-14 Crash
Two Navy fliers escaped serious injury Thursday after they ejected safely from their $44-million F-14 fighter jet moments before it crashed in Dixie Valley east of here.
It was the third crash involving an F-14 in the past month, including one at the civilian Gillespie Field in El Cajon, Calif., that injured four people on the ground. A Navy flier who ejected from that plane died.
The Nevada crash occurred at noon in the desert about 45 miles from the Fallon Naval Air Station, according to Lt. Cmdr. Bob Pritchard at the Miramar Naval Air Station north of San Diego.
He said the Miramar-based jet was participating in a training mission involving aerial combat maneuvers. It was not immediately known what caused the crash.
The two aviators, whose names were not available, were flown to Fallon by helicopter from the remote area for observation at the base medical facility.
The F-14 destroyed in the Nevada crash is the same type that was glamorized in the movie “Top Gun.” It was the 98th accidental loss of the supersonic jet since its introduction to the fleet in 1972, according to Navy records.
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