The Associated Press
YUMA – Military investigators had yet to determine this morning why a Marine F/A-18 fighter-attack jet crashed, killing a student pilot and injuring a flight instructor.
The aircraft had taken off from the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma but was from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, stationed in San Diego. The pilots were training in Yuma.
For reasons still unclear, the pilots ejected from the F/A-18 during yesterday afternoon’s training flight over the Barry M. Goldwater Range.
Capt. Douglas F. Aguilera, 33, of Paso Robles, Calif., was killed.
Maj. John P. Hesford, 33, of Worcester, Mass., was treated at Yuma Regional Medical Center and released yesterday.
On Monday, a Harrier jet crashed during training at the Yuma base. The pilot wasn’t injured. Cause of that crash also is undetermined.