Naval Aviator's

[Old Marine]

Just heard on the news that two Naval Aviator's from NAS Lemore crashed around 12:30 today. The remains have been recovered. RIP

[USNAviator]

Just heard on the news that two Naval Aviator's from NAS Lemore crashed around 12:30 today. The remains have been recovered. RIP

Thank you for posting that Gunny

"Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair
Oh hear us when we lift our prayer
For those in peril in the air. "

Rest in Peace, you've reached out and touched the face of God, now you will be with Him forever

Dan

[ecfree]

Thank you for posting that Gunny

"Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair
Oh hear us when we lift our prayer
For those in peril in the air. "

Rest in Peace, you've reached out and touched the face of God, now you will be with Him forever

Dan

[TunTvrnWarrior]

DAVID CASTELLON
dcastell@visalia.gannett.com

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Statement from press conference

Staff reports

Below is the text of three-minute statement made by the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Lemoore following Wednesday’s crash. He did not take questions from the press.

Good afternoon, I’m Capt. James Knapp ... I’m the commanding officer of Naval Air Station, Lemoore, Calif.

[At] approximately 12:08 local, Pacific Standard Time this afternoon, an F-18 foxtrot model aircraft assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 122, which is the fleet replacement squadron located at Naval Air Station Lemoore, aircraft went down, and crashed, approximately one half mile to the west of Naval Air Station Lemoore’s property line, on private property, a farm in Fresno County.

The F-18 F model is a two-seat Strike Fighter made by Boeing aircraft company. It’s the newest Strike Fighter in the Navy’s inventory. It’s flown, again, by a crew of two, a pilot and a weapon system operator.

The cause of the mishap is under investigation. I can say there was no damage at the crash site to civilian property or personnel.
However, I can confirm that there were two fatalities. The pilot and the weapon system operator attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 122 perished in the mishap.

Names will not be released until the notification of next of kin has been completed.

The aircraft was a single-aircraft mission on a routine training flight originating from Naval Air Station Lemoore and ending at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

Over the course of the next month, safety investigators from the Naval Safety Center and Strike Fighter Squadron 122 will conduct an investigation of the mishap site and the components that they are able to recover from the mishap crash site to determine the cause of the mishap and make recommendations to higher headquarters in the Navy on how to prevent future mishaps.

That’s all I have at this time. I thank you very much for your patience. I ask that you have your thoughts and prayers for the family, the friends and shipmates of these two fine Naval officers and that you remember that they represent the very best of this nation. Thank you very much.


A Navy fighter jet crashed this afternoon on a farm near Naval Air Station Lemoore, killing two people aboard, Navy officials report.
A two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet was on a training flight when it went down at 12:08 p.m. about a half mile west of the base, just across the Fresno County border according to county sheriff's and Navy officials.

Cmdr. Pauline Storum, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Forces in Coronado, said this afternoon that she hadn't been told whether the plot radioed before the crash that the aircraft was in trouble or if attempts were made by the two people in the fighter to eject before the crash.

The plane went down in a vacant field, and Navy officials reported that nobody on the ground was injured.

Navy Capt. James Knapp said a pilot and weapons officer were on a routine training flight when the plane went down. He added that the names of names of the aviators killed wouldn't be disclosed until their next of kin are notified.

Read more in tomorrow's Times-Delta.

[USNAviator]

Thanks Mike for the update. I feel so sad for their families

[TunTvrnWarrior]

Dan, I believe my brother worked flightline for VA-27 out of Lemore and did a couple of pumps on the USS Carl Vinson.

[Phantom Blooper]

RIP!

Good job Dan.....

[USNAviator]

Dan, I believe my brother worked flightline for VA-27 out of Lemore and did a couple of pumps on the USS Carl Vinson.

Mike, the Vinson has always been a Pacific based carrier but I do know she's a Nimitz Class CVN

I've heard of the Royal Maces (VA-27) but don't much about their operational history

[USNAviator]

RIP!

Good job Dan.....

Thanks Chuck!!!

[hbharrison]

My last duty station was NAS Lemoore Marine Barracks.

R.I.P. Fair Winds and Following Seas

[TunTvrnWarrior]

Mike, the Vinson has always been a Pacific based carrier but I do know she's a Nimitz Class CVN

I've heard of the Royal Maces (VA-27) but don't much about their operational history

Rob turned wrenches on the A7, I believe. He also launched and recovered them.

[SGT7477]

RIP, Semper Fidelis.

[USNAviator]

Rob turned wrenches on the A7, I believe. He also launched and recovered them.

Mike your brother had one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, to be on a flight deck launching/recovering aircraft. More power to him.

[TunTvrnWarrior]

Mike your brother had one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, to be on a flight deck launching/recovering aircraft. More power to him.

I saw a training video when I went to the wing where a sailor got sucked up into the intake. It chewed up his helmet because they were able to shut it down in time. He was shown later with bandages and a sling. I worked around turboprops and I had a healthy respect for them. It always scared the crap out of me when I got complacent around them even when the aircraft was not turned on.

[USNAviator]

I saw a training video when I went to the wing where a sailor got sucked up into the intake. It chewed up his helmet because they were able to shut it down in time. He was shown later with bandages and a sling. I worked around turboprops and I had a healthy respect for them. It always scared the crap out of me when I got complacent around them even when the aircraft was not turned on.

Mike in my 20 years I saw it happen twice, both individual did not survive unfortunately. When you're walking around a flight deck while engines are spooling up you damn well better be aware of your situation.

Fair winds Mike!!!