Navy Recovers Mangled Fuselage Of Downed Jet
Crane Needed To Lift Wreckage From Waters
POSTED: 8:51 am PDT May 10, 2004
UPDATED: 9:08 am PDT May 10, 2004
SAN DIEGO -- The Navy has recovered the mangled fuselage of an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet that crashed in March off the coast of San Diego.
An unmanned submarine helped attached slings to the fuselage so a large crane could lift it 215 feet out of the water Saturday. The tail, engines and cockpit were recovered earlier.The Tomcat, from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virgini a, crashed into the sea after it reportedly developed engine problems. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued by two Navy contract employees in a nearby boat.Recovering the $62 million aircraft has been a priority for investigators trying to determine what caused the crash. Also, the Navy will be able to remove the plane's classified equipment.The submersible located the wreckage last month.
| Slideshow |
Images: | Video |
Military Jet Crash Caught On Home Video Previous Story:
- March 30, 2004: Tourist Catches F-14 Crash On Home Video
Copyright 2004 by 10News.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
