Marine Pilot Killed in Gulf Is Identified
The U.S. Navy on Saturday identified a Marine Corps fighter pilot killed in a midair collision over the Persian Gulf as Lt. Col. Henry Van Winkle of Kirkwood, N.Y.
Van Winkle, 41, died Friday when his F-18 fighter collided with another Marine Corps F-18 in midair and crashed in the Gulf. The pilot of the other plane, 37-year-old Maj. Cary Venden of Beaufort, S.C., survived the crash.
The single-seat jets were based on the aircraft carrier George Washington as part of a major U.S. military force now gathered near Iraq.
“[Venden] is listed in good condition. He’s on the George Washington,” a Navy spokesman said.
The Pentagon released a report from the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain saying the planes collided over water about 80 miles east of Kuwait as they were returning to the ship.
The jets had been conducting a routine training mission in support of Operation Southern Watch, which monitors a “no-fly” zone over southern Iraq.
The George Washington is one of four aircraft carriers--three American and one British--stationed in the Gulf in a crisis over Iraq’s refusal to allow unhindered U.N. inspections of suspected arms sites.
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