F/A-18 Hornet Fighter Bomber Crash: Four Confirmed Deceased

I really, REALLY do hope there is a good explanation for this incident. Something that was completely beyond the Marine Pilot's control, that lead to this tragic incident. Otherwise, it will just end up becoming more fodder for good 'ol John "our Marines are murderers" Murtha to toss around. And since all the articles are a tad bit vague, it could possibly be him already digging to see if he can slander our troops. But for now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Unlike he gave to our now completely exonerated Haditha Marines. But all that shows in any article is;

"A high-ranking congressman on Tuesday called on the Marine Corps to release the maintenance records of all its F/A-18D Hornet fighters after one of the jets lost power and crashed into a neighborhood, killing four members of a single family."

Which is then immediately followed by commentary regarding Duncan Hunter. "Rep. Duncan Hunter, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the fiery crash of the fighter on Monday apparently was caused by "power failure" and was likely unrelated to the previous discovery of cracks in hinges on the wings of more than a dozen of the $57-million aircraft."

Make of that what you will. I'll need to see if the "high ranking" Congressman is ever specifically identified. That should clear the air on that issue.

But to date, it turns out the missing individual has been found. Bringing the full death toll to four. All members of the same family. Dong Yun Yoon, whose family it was that perished in the incident, has said he has been praying for the pilot of the aircraft, and that he holds no animosity towards him. That's a strong man there. Dong went on to say that he doesn't want the pilot to suffer from this event, and called him a 'treasure.' "I don't want him to suffer from this accident," Mr Yoon said. "I know he's one of our treasures for the country. And I don't blame him, I don't have any hard feelings."

You want to know what a real man should look/sound like? You just witnessed it.

The pilot is currently in stable condition in a Naval Hospital.

The pilot had been returning from training on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast, when he was attempting to land at Miramar Air Base after a right engine failure. When the left engine failed, the pilot was left with little if any choice but to eject from the aircraft. Investigators will be reviewing the information from the flight data recorder recovered from the wreckage. There was no indication the pilot had been using alcohol or drugs.