A Marine Corps pilot died Thursday night when his F/A-18C crashed during a training mission near Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. The pilot, Maj. Richard Norton, was a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, Marine Aircraft Group 11, and stationed at MCAS Miramar, Calif., according to a Marine Corps release. He departed there to take part in a pre-deployment exercise at MAGCC. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Norton, commissioned in 2005, deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and to Japan multiple times. “Losing Maj. Norton is a tremendous loss to the MAG-11 Team,” said Col. William Swan, commander of MAG-11, according to the release. “He was one of the best and brightest Hornet pilots our nation had to offer; our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” The crash was the latest in a series of military jet mishaps that have occurred in recent months. In June, to South Carolina Air National Guard pilots safely ejected after their F-16s collided during a training flight in Jefferson County, Ga. About a week earlier, an Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 crashed after a flyover at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., where President Obama was giving the commencement address. A Navy Blue Angels pilot was killed after his F/A-18 crashed on June 2 during a practice airshow in Smyrna, Tenn. Two pilots and two weapons system officers safely ejected from their two F/A-18s after they collided off the coast of North Carolina in late May.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.