April 6, 2011 Super Hornet Down In California

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By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief

The two occupants of a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet died when the jet crashed about a half mile from NAS Lemoore in central California Wednesday. The Navy told various media outlets the aircraft was on a routine training mission prior to deployment. The crash happened just after noon. The plane went down in a field but it wasn't immediately stated what phase of flight it was in at the time. There was also no word about whether the crew tried to eject.

NAS Lemoore is about 40 miles south of Fresno in California's Central Valley and is home to fighter squadrons deployed on five aircraft carriers based on the West Coast. The two-seat version of the Super Hornet is designated as the F model and is not simply a training version of the type. Single- and two-seat F/A-18s are used operationally.