1,300 US homes evacuated as Harrier jet crashes

A Marine Harrier jet carrying four 500-pound bombs crashed in a residential neighbourhood, forcing the evacuation of 1,300 homes. There were no reports of injuries and the pilot ejected safely, authorities said.

The jet was coming in for a landing at Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma when it crashed in the garden of a home about a mile from the base, said Marine Corporal Michael Nease. It was also carrying 300 rounds of 25-millimetre ammunition, he said.

The Marines were investigating the accident, but had not determined a cause, Nease said.

Nease said two homes near the crash site sustained some structural damage after the aircraft burst into flames, he said. A one-mile radius around the crash was evacuated while a military explosives disposal team dismantled the bombs so they could be removed.

“I was just sitting here. It was a low, soaring sound. It got real low. It was like a rumbling and I heard an explosion,” said Marita Jane Wichman, who lives about four houses away from where the crash occurred.

The area was mostly clear of explosives by last night and most residents were allowed to return home, said Kevin Tunell, a spokesman for Yuma County’s Emergency Operations Centre.

The pilot, who was based in Yuma and was returning from a training mission, was the only person on board and was taken to the hospital, Nease said.

His injuries appeared not to be life-threatening. No one else was taken to the hospital as a result of the crash, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The AV-8B Harrier is a light-attack aircraft that can take off and land vertically.

Yuma is about 185 miles south-west of Phoenix, near the Mexican border.