[accident]Now these Marines have something to be thankful for....

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Marines Jet Crashes Near N.C.; Crew Rescued

CHERRY POINT AIR STATION, N.C. -- Four crew members of a Marine Corps electronic warfare jet ejected Wednesday before their EA-6B Prowler aircraft crashed into the Atlantic. The crew members were being rescued by two HH-46 rescue choppers from the base; one was airborne when the crash occurred, said base

spokesman Maj. James Bell.

"All four of them ejected safely and we're in communication with all four," Bell said.

The crew was flown to Carteret Regional Medical Center for checkups, but none had serious injuries. The crew's names were being withheld until their families had been notified.

The crash occurred between 7:30 and 8 a.m. about 50 miles southeast of the base off Cape Lookout, Bell said. The actual location was a point some 26 miles off the beach at a navigation point called "Whiskey 122," Bell said.

Bell said the Prowler was on a training flight and didn't carry weapons.

"We don't know whether or not we'll be recovering the aircraft," he said. "They will have to make an assessment of whether it's cost effective to do that. One factor we will have to consider is the Prowler has sensitive electronic equipment on it."

The four-seat jet's mission is to fly with fighters and bombers and jam enemy radar. Bell said the squadron to which the jet was assigned had recently returned from duty in Turkey where it patrolled no-fly zones over Iraq during "Operation Northern Watch."

The air station has four Prowler squadrons consisting of about 20 planes, Bell said.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001


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