Crashes Cited as Marines Halt All Training Flights

Alarmed by a rash of unexplained crashes, the Marine Corps called a two-day halt to all training flights, beginning Tuesday night. With nine aircraft losses so far this year, the Marines’ rate of major accidents is the highest in six years.

In just the last six weeks, the Marines have lost six aircraft and five crew members.

Exempted from the grounding were essential operations such as patrols over Bosnia as part of the NATO peace enforcement mission, spokesman Scott Gordon said.

Commanders of a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indian Ocean and another in the Mediterranean can wait until they return to home base before taking the two days off, officials said. Those units fly helicopters but not fighters.

Gen. Charles C. Krulak, the Marine Corps commandant, ordered the halt to flights. In a brief written statement, he said he ordered that aviation squadrons review all maintenance and operational procedures to correct “any discrepancies that put Marine air crews and aircraft at unnecessary risk.”

Krulak said no common cause was apparent in the recent string of crashes. The latest was Monday when an AV-8B Harrier fighter crashed during training near Yuma, Ariz. The pilot ejected safely. It was the fourth Harrier to crash this year, and the Marines have lost 17 in the past four years.

Krulak had temporarily grounded the daytime attack version of the Harrier a few weeks ago after two crashed in two weeks. The single-seat jet is built by McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace. The temporary flight ban affects AV-8B Harriers, F/A-18 Hornet fighters, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare planes and KC-130 refueling aircraft. It also applies to Marine helicopters, including CH-46 Sea Knights, CH-53 Super Stallions, AH-1 Super Cobras and UH-1 Hueys, Gordon said.