Air National Guard Identifies Victim of Crash

The California Air National Guard member killed Thursday when a jet fighter crashed into her military pickup truck at nearby March Air Force Base has been identified as Sgt. Sheila R. Willits.

Meanwhile, an Air Force investigative board has begun its inquiry into the crash and will examine whether the pickup--from which Willits and two other guard members were monitoring the plane’s takeoff--was parked in violation of guidelines governing how close vehicles may be to a runway in use.

Willits, 22, of Rancho California, was part of a ground crew observing the departure of the F-4E Phantom fighter. She was pregnant and is survived by her husband, Calvin Willits, a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton.

The truck’s other two passengers were injured and remained hospitalized Friday. First Lt. Mark Gabel, 29, of La Mesa, was listed in critical condition, while Sr. Master Sgt. Robert M. Smith, 45, of Corona, was in fair condition.

The plane’s pilot was identified as Lt. Col. Donald E. Worden, 46, of Moreno Valley. Worden and the aircraft’s weapons systems officer, Maj. William C. Gallegos, 38, of Carlsbad, ejected and suffered moderate injuries.

Maj. Michael Ritz, a spokesman for the Air National Guard, said the plane was in the process of taking off at 1 p.m. Thursday when it suddenly plummeted to the ground, struck the pickup and burst into a fiery ball. The plane was armed with 20-millimeter cannon shells and practice bombs and was headed out for a routine training flight over the high desert.

Ritz said it is “common and accepted practice” for an “authorized observation vehicle” to park beside the runway and monitor the takeoff of tactical fighter aircraft.

“They observe the standards and practices of the pilots and just watch how the aircraft performs,” Ritz said. “It was not at all unusual” for the vehicle to be in the vicinity, he said.

Ritz said the truck was parked in a grassy area beside the runway, but exactly how close to the runway he could not say. Although there are Air Force and Air National Guard guidelines governing where vehicles may park during takeoffs, Ritz said details of those guidelines were unavailable Friday.

Whether the truck was too close to the runway is “certainly something that will be part of the investigation, and I can’t speculate on it,” Ritz said.

All of those involved in the accident were members of the Air National Guard’s 163rd Tactical Fighter Group, which is stationed at March Air Force Base. The last fatal crash involving a member of the group occurred March 21, 1987, when entertainer Dean Martin’s son, Dean Paul Martin, crashed his F-4C into the side of the San Gorgonio Mountains.