Harbor Patrol Reels In Fallen Part From Military Jet : Aircraft: A landing gear assembly found floating off Newport Harbor was finally tracked to a Marine squadron based in Arizona.

The Harbor Patrol recovered a floating landing gear assembly that broke off a Yuma, Ariz.-based military jet aircraft while it was apparently operating over the Pacific Ocean, the Sheriff’s Department said Saturday.

The wheel assembly, the center of the intricate landing gear of an AV-8 Harrier jet fighter, was found floating in the ocean about 1 1/4 miles southwest of Newport Harbor, said Sgt. John K. Holani of the Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol.

The jet that lost the gear was part of Marine Attack Squadron 513, based at the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, said base spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Tina Foglesong.

The British-made Harrier jet, known for its ability to hover like a helicopter, was recently aboard the the amphibious attack ship Pelileu for a six-month series of operations in the Pacific Ocean, she said. The Pelileu has a landing platform for helicopters and Harriers.

“The plane apparently landed safely, without too much incident,” Foglesong said. “If it had not been able to hover (to a landing), it would have been in real trouble.”

The aircraft part was turned over to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on Saturday afternoon, to be transported back to Yuma for inspection, Holani said.

“We don’t at this time know when, how or why it fell off,” Foglesong said. “Whenever a major component like this malfunctions, it automatically comes under investigation.”

She also did not know where the Pelileu is operating in the Pacific.

“I know they just started their float,” Foglesong said.

Holani said that the wheel assembly was spotted by the owner of a small pleasure craft at 8:54 a.m. Friday. The boat owner alerted the Harbor Patrol, which is operated by the Sheriff’s Department.

A Harbor Patrol boat then fished the wheel assembly, which was estimated to weigh more than 250 pounds, out of the water. Holani said that it appeared the aircraft part had not been in the water long.

“There isn’t much corrosion on it,” Holani said, adding that Marine Corps officials were unusually secretive about the matter.

“They didn’t tell me anything,” he said. “Mum was the word.”

The find initially was something of a mystery for Harbor Patrol officials.

After bringing the assembly to shore, Harbor Patrol investigators called John Wayne Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and other local aviation agencies for a clue about the owner of the landing gear.

“At first, we thought it might be something from a business jet, the type that always lands at John Wayne (Airport),” Holani said. “We turned up nothing.”

It was not until a local television station aired a story Friday night on the mysterious landing gear that the Sheriff’s Department got its first clue.

Someone from the sprawling Camp Pendleton Marine base in San Diego County apparently called El Toro base officials with information on it, Holani said.

“They told us that one of their aircraft was missing a part,” Holani said.

The tip turned out to be only half right. The part was finally tracked to the Yuma air base, after there was some confusion among Marine Corps officials, Holani said.

The El Toro Marine base officer of the day, Capt. Terry Burke, said that base officials were unaware of the incident and could not confirm whether the part was shipped to El Toro.

“We have not heard anything about this,” Burke said. “We have not had any reports.”

Foglesong said didn’t know whether the wheel assembly is prone to malfunction or whether the Harrier is less safe than other fighter planes.

The Yuma base is one of two Marine Corps bases in the United States that have large numbers of Harriers.

“I haven’t heard anything about it being a problem,” Foglesong said.