Jet fire injures 10 aboard carrier Stennis

SAN DIEGO, March 31 (UPI) -- Ten sailors were injured when a Navy jet caught fire as a pilot was preparing to take off from the carrier John C. Stennis near San Diego, the U.S. Navy said.

A naval spokesman said none of the injuries was life-threatening, but four sailors were transported to Naval Medical Center San Diego as a precaution, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The pilot, who was unharmed, was alone in the F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet when the incident occurred Wednesday about 100 miles offshore from San Diego, the Navy said.

The injured sailors were working on the flight deck as pilots were training for takeoffs and landings, Navy spokesman Lt. Aaron V. Kakiel said. The sailors who were injured were involved in the launch and recovery of the jets involved in the training, he said.

The jet was getting ready to take off and on the catapult when the engine malfunctioned and fire broke out, Kakiel said. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the plane sustained significant damage.

The cause of the engine malfunction was not immediately determined, the Union-Tribune said.

"Something happened inside the engine that caused it to malfunction," Kakiel said. "We're concerned for all the sailors that were injured and we're trying to figure out what happened to avoid such incidents in the future."