POINT MUGU, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The pilot of a jet just finishing up \a military exercise crashed in a plume of oily black smoke in a Ventura County farm field in Southern California yesterday.
The single-seat Hawker Hunter MK.58 disintegrated just off Highway 1 as the pilot was preparing to land near Point Mugu during rush hour. The pilot was declared dead at the scene. No one on the ground was injured, said a county fire captain.
The plane, operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, had been playing the role of an enemy aircraft in an offshore exercise. The crash occurred as the pilot, whom authorities have not yet identified, was heading back to base. ATAC, a private company, often operates planes in adversarial poses for military training purposes.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have both launched investigations into the crash.
Two years ago, another Hawker Hunter also operated by ATAC crashed into a farm field near the Navy base, killing the pilot. That plane had also been contracted to play the enemy in a training exercise.
