Another Hawker Hunter MK.58 Crash near NAWS Point Mugu

[Doug Robertson]

On 29 October an eerily similar fatal crash of an Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. (ATAC) Hawker Hunter MK.58 operating on a U.S. Navy contract as an aggressor aircraft occurred north of Point Mugu for landing on NAWS Point Mugu's 11,100' duty runway. Two years ago, a similar crash of an ATAC Hawker Hunter Mk.58 also fatally crashed while on final to the same runway. See my post here of 18 May 2012 for that report.

Wednesday's crash was near East Hueneme Road between Wood Road and the Pacific Coast Highway in a strawberry field at 5:13 p.m. north of the field. The pilot's body was found in the debris field of about 50-60 feet long. He was an ex-military seasoned jet pilot. The resulting fire with heavy black smoke was extinguished by the Ventura County Fire Department by 5:38 p.m. The black smoke continued for some time drifting northeast, delaying traffic and the site was cordoned off. A deployed parachute was found nearby, and investigations are continuing. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the crash, with the NTSB as lead agency. I do not as yet have the N number of the crashed jet, but have probably photographed it earlier.

The Hawker Hunter Mk.58 has a 15-stage axial-flow Rolls-Royce Avon MK107 turbine engine rated at 10,150 pounds thrust. ATAC won large Navy contracts in 2009 of about $43 million to support Navy training missions off shore, often in conjunction with fleet ships. ATAC also supports Navy combat training missions at the NAS Fallon area, flying about 3,800 hours per year in missions in the continental United States, Japan and across the West Pacific Ocean. About 1,400 hours are logged on the US West Coast, staging aerial dogfights or mock attacks. ATAC operates regularly around NAWS Point Mugu and at nearby KCMA.

[Doug Robertson]

Update info on the crash-The 45 year old pilot has been identified as a former USAF pilot who spent 9 months in a USAF tour of duty in Afghanistan and who also taught United Arab Emirates pilots to fly the F-16. He had also been an inspector and a check pilot for new fighter aircraft built by Lockheed in Fort Worth, TX. He was married with five children, one a US Marine stationed at the Defense Language Institute at Monterey, CA.

Today's newspaper corrected the ATAC US Navy contract size, it is about $160 million, not about $43 million as earlier reported. As a result of the crash, ATAC is holding a safety stand down and stopped flying, a normal procedure in such unfortunate situations. Most of their pilots are retired Navy and Air Force pilots. The company was inspected by the Navy earlier this year with no issues.

A final report on the similar ATAC crash on 18 May, 2012 has not yet been released by the NTSB.