"Jet Engine Explodes, Injuring 10 on Carrier" AP, Military.com 3/31/2011
SAN DIEGO -- The engine of a fighter jet preparing to take off from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific exploded and injured 10 Sailors, the military says.
The F/A-18C Hornet was starting a training exercise when the accident occurred about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis, according to Cmdr. Pauline Storum.
Four Sailors were flown to Naval Medical Center San Diego, where they were in stable condition. The six others were treated for burn injuries onboard the carrier. None of the injuries was life threatening, Storum said.
The pilot was not hurt.
Read more about the F/A-18C Hornet at our Equipment Guide. (opens in new page)
The fire was quickly extinguished, and there was no significant damage to the ship, but the aircraft sustained at least $1 million in damage, Storum said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The Stennis is based in Bremerton, Wash., and was conducting qualification flights for pilots and crews about 100 miles off the coast of San Diego at the time of the mishap.
Navy officials did not immediately respond to calls for further comment.
The aircraft was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The F/A-18C Hornet, which was used in Operation Desert Storm, is a fighter-attack aircraft that can carry air-to-air missiles and infrared imaging air-to-ground missiles.
Although there are no details, and there will not be until the full investigation is completed, the scenario brings to mind engine explosions caused by malfunction or FOD.
FOD (Foreign Object Damage) = when something that does not belong gets into aircraft, in this case a jet engine, that causes damage. Like tools mistakenly left in the wrong place, items a jet engine sucks off the Flight Deck, etc.
In my 22yrs in the Navy serving with Naval Aircraft Squadrons, much of the time out of NAS Miramar, San Diego (now MCAS Miramar), I have witnessed many such occurrences, and been on Accident Investigation Teams twice.
I am glad that my shipmates (they still are even though I'm retired) were not killed.
NOTE: If you read the Wikipedia article in above link, you'll see that TOPGUN (offically the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School) was located at NAS Miramar. I did a tour of duty there 1973.
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