February 22, 1996
Web posted at: 11:35 a.m. EST
From Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Navy on Thursday ordered a halt to all F-14 flight operations for three days after another of the jets crashed in the Persian Gulf.
The plane, an older F-14A from the carrier USS Nimitz, crashed in the northern Gulf Thursday morning during scheduled flight operations. The pilot and radar intercept officer ejected and were rescued by the ship's helicopter.
The crash, the third of an F-14 this year, prompted the Navy to order a three-day "safety standdown" to determine if there is a safety problem with the jet. Navy officials insisted after the previous crashes that there was no safety problem with the F-14.
The two other crashes were of a F-14A in Nashville, Tennessee, and a newer F-14D in the Pacific. All three planes were from different San Diego-based squadrons.
A one-time exception to the standdown will be granted to planes of the U.S. aircraft carrier America, which returns to Norfolk tomorrow, to allow its planes to fly off the carrier to their base at the Oceana Naval Air Station.
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