Pilot injured in fighter crash

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

Capt. John Dyer, a student at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, was treated and released from the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital in Las Vegas after his fighter jet crashed Tuesday afternoon.

Dyer ejected from a U.S. Air Force A-10 that crashed about 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday about 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas, officials said.

The jet fighter assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base is a single-seat aircraft designed for air support of ground forces. After Dyer ejected, he was rescued and taken to the hospital.

A board of officers will investigate the incident, Lt. Lori Dockendorf said.

The A-10s, also called Warthogs, cost about $9.8 million apiece.

Warthogs have been involved in 10 crashes over the past five years. This is the third A-10 crash involving Nellis Air Force Base. On Dec. 4, 2002, two fighters collided over the Nevada Test and Training Range. Capt. Eric Palaro, a pilot assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, was killed in that crash.

On Sept. 3, 2001, a fighter pilot ejected safely before his A-10 struck a mountain near Mesquite about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

A-10s are among the oldest aircraft in U.S. military service, with the first fighters completed in 1975 and the last aircraft rolling off the assembly line in 1982.