A Marine fighter jet crashed Monday about a mile short of a runway at an eastern North Carolina air base, killing the pilot, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

The single-seat plane was returning to the base after a training flight when it crashed about 12:30 p.m. in an unpopulated area, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point spokesman Mike Barton said. No one else was hurt, Barton said.

Local authorities say the crash, about a mile east of the base off N.C. Highway 101, did not affect the few homes in the area.

The pilot's identity was being withheld until next-of-kin was notified and an investigation had begun, Barton said. The AV-8B Harrier jet was assigned to Marine Attack Training Squadron 203.

Another Harrier crashed in February near Cherry Point, but the pilot wasn't injured. In May, a two-seat training model of the Harrier crashed in Arizona, but the pilots ejected safely.

Monday's crash comes the same month that a Marine jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood near its base, killing four people on the ground.

WNCT-TV in Greenville reported that a hunter nearby said the jet was making an odd noise and belching smoke and flames before it crashed.

SOURCE:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1868961,00.html


RIP to the pilot, condolences to the family, hard to lose someone, especially this time of year.