Friday, April 1, 2016

SUV flees cops, takes out fighter jet, driver and passenger die

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SUV flees cops, takes out fighter jet

SUV flees cops, takes out Navy fighter jet

Brad Lendon-Profile-Image
By Brad Lendon, CNN
Updated 1:22 PM ET, Fri April 1, 2016 | Video Source: KFSN

Story highlights

  • Police chase ends 7 miles inside Naval Air Station Lemoore in California
  • Jeep Grand Cherokee got past security at base entry point
  • Officials say it was not a targeted attack on military base
(CNN)How does an SUV fleeing the police get inside a U.S. Navy base and take out a $60 million top-of-the-line fighter jet?
That's the question officials at Naval Station Lemoore outside Fresno, California, are trying to figure out after a Jeep Grand Cherokee racing away from a California Highway Patrol traffic stop got 7 miles inside the Navy installation late Wednesday and crashed into the tail section of an F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Navy and California Highway Patrol officials said at a press conference Thursday that two people were in the Jeep -- a male driver and female passenger. Both died and their identifications were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, officials said.
The air station's commander, Capt. Monty Ashliman, said neither of the occupants of the Jeep had a military affiliation and it was not a targeted attack on the base.
A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
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An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in flight during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in flight during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission.
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An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and an attack aircraft.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and an attack aircraft.
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Pilots perform daily flight checks on their F-5E/F Tiger aircraft in Key West, Florida, on January 7, 2005. The Vietnam-era aircraft -- one of several offshoots of the original Northrup F-5s that went into service in the early 1960s -- is used to simulate adversary aircraft in training.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
Pilots perform daily flight checks on their F-5E/F Tiger aircraft in Key West, Florida, on January 7, 2005. The Vietnam-era aircraft -- one of several offshoots of the original Northrup F-5s that went into service in the early 1960s -- is used to simulate adversary aircraft in training.
Hide Caption
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A AV-8B Harrier lands on board the USS Nassau on April 14, 1999, after a strike mission into Kosovo. The AV-8B Harrier is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing. Though production of the aircraft ceased in 2003, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking at systems enhancements and plans to continue using Harriers well into the next decade.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A AV-8B Harrier lands on board the USS Nassau on April 14, 1999, after a strike mission into Kosovo. The AV-8B Harrier is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing. Though production of the aircraft ceased in 2003, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking at systems enhancements and plans to continue using Harriers well into the next decade.
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An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 taxis onto a catapult before launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 taxis onto a catapult before launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
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An F-15E Strike Eagle was designed for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It was derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was developed to enhance U.S. air superiority during the Vietnam War.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F-15E Strike Eagle was designed for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It was derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was developed to enhance U.S. air superiority during the Vietnam War.
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A F-22 Raptor flies over Marietta, Georgia, home of the Lockheed Martin plant where it was built. The F-22 is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A F-22 Raptor flies over Marietta, Georgia, home of the Lockheed Martin plant where it was built. The F-22 is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
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F-16 Fighting Falcons are parked at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona, on December 11, 2004. General Dynamics (which was later sold to Lockheed) delivered the U.S. Air Force its first F-16As in 1979. More than 4,500 of the fighters have been built, and they are used by more than 20 nations in addition to the United States.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
F-16 Fighting Falcons are parked at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona, on December 11, 2004. General Dynamics (which was later sold to Lockheed) delivered the U.S. Air Force its first F-16As in 1979. More than 4,500 of the fighters have been built, and they are used by more than 20 nations in addition to the United States.
Hide Caption
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A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
Hide Caption
5 of 9
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in flight during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in flight during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission.
Hide Caption
6 of 9
An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and an attack aircraft.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and an attack aircraft.
Hide Caption
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Pilots perform daily flight checks on their F-5E/F Tiger aircraft in Key West, Florida, on January 7, 2005. The Vietnam-era aircraft -- one of several offshoots of the original Northrup F-5s that went into service in the early 1960s -- is used to simulate adversary aircraft in training.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
Pilots perform daily flight checks on their F-5E/F Tiger aircraft in Key West, Florida, on January 7, 2005. The Vietnam-era aircraft -- one of several offshoots of the original Northrup F-5s that went into service in the early 1960s -- is used to simulate adversary aircraft in training.
Hide Caption
8 of 9
A AV-8B Harrier lands on board the USS Nassau on April 14, 1999, after a strike mission into Kosovo. The AV-8B Harrier is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing. Though production of the aircraft ceased in 2003, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking at systems enhancements and plans to continue using Harriers well into the next decade.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A AV-8B Harrier lands on board the USS Nassau on April 14, 1999, after a strike mission into Kosovo. The AV-8B Harrier is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing. Though production of the aircraft ceased in 2003, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking at systems enhancements and plans to continue using Harriers well into the next decade.
Hide Caption
9 of 9
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 taxis onto a catapult before launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 taxis onto a catapult before launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
Hide Caption
1 of 9
An F-15E Strike Eagle was designed for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It was derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was developed to enhance U.S. air superiority during the Vietnam War.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
An F-15E Strike Eagle was designed for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It was derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was developed to enhance U.S. air superiority during the Vietnam War.
Hide Caption
2 of 9
A F-22 Raptor flies over Marietta, Georgia, home of the Lockheed Martin plant where it was built. The F-22 is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A F-22 Raptor flies over Marietta, Georgia, home of the Lockheed Martin plant where it was built. The F-22 is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
Hide Caption
3 of 9
F-16 Fighting Falcons are parked at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona, on December 11, 2004. General Dynamics (which was later sold to Lockheed) delivered the U.S. Air Force its first F-16As in 1979. More than 4,500 of the fighters have been built, and they are used by more than 20 nations in addition to the United States.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
F-16 Fighting Falcons are parked at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona, on December 11, 2004. General Dynamics (which was later sold to Lockheed) delivered the U.S. Air Force its first F-16As in 1979. More than 4,500 of the fighters have been built, and they are used by more than 20 nations in addition to the United States.
Hide Caption
4 of 9
A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
9 photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet
A F-35C conducts a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay on February 11, 2011. Inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered after a runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23. The F-35 Lightning II has been beset by delays and cost overruns in the years since its introduction.
Hide Caption
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F/A-18E super hornet
fleet 04
fleet 06
fleet 02 RESTRICTED
fleet 01
a-10 warthog jet
fleet 03
fleet 05
fleet 07
But an investigation was under way on how the vehicle got past armed security at one of the entry points to a base that's home to 15 F/A-18 squadrons, most of the Navy's fighter squadrons in the Pacific, and billions of dollars' worth of aircraft.
All homeland U.S. military bases have been under what the Pentagon calls Force Protection Condition Bravo, which is defined as an "increased and predictable threat of terrorism," since May 7, 2015, when the military was becoming increasingly wary of homegrown terror threats in the wake of incidents at the time. Bravo is the third-highest threat level on a five-tier scale the Defense Department uses.
Defense officials would not detail how the threat level changed affected security procedures at bases.
"Regardless of procedures we have in place, something went wrong and we had a tragic accident," Ashliman said. "We had some damage to an aircraft and we had two losses of life so we've got to figure out a way to prevent that from happening in the future."
Ashliman said all exit and entry points to the base were properly manned with base security personnel but did not say how the vehicle still managed to get past both them and barriers designed to prevent such entries.
"Anytime there's something like this, we'll certainly take a look at where we can get better. Whether that's a misstep that we had, whether it's assets that we need, or a different way of doing business, but we'll absolutely take serious this incident and figure out how we can get better and prevent it from happening tomorrow," Ashliman said.
F-35C Lightning II aircraft fly in formation over the naval base with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets last year.
F-35C Lightning II aircraft fly in formation over the naval base with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets last year.
The California Highway Patrol said the incident began when officers came across the vehicle as it was stopped along a roadway and they tried to check to see if there was any problem. The vehicle sped away as officers approached, initiating the chase, patrol Lt. Dave Knoff said.
The Jeep was pursued by both cruisers and a CHP helicopter, officials said. It was the helicopter that landed nearby when the vehicle hit the F/A-18 and officers found the female dead in the vehicle, officials said. The driver later died at a hospital.
Ashliman said the Navy could not yet give an estimate on the damages to the Super Hornet.
"There will be an intense investigation to be sure ... it is absolutely safe before it goes flying again," Ashliman said. He said the base lost no ability to function.

 

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