IMPERIAL, Calif., June 5 (UPI) -- The Marine Corps announced that one of their AV-8B Harrier jets crashed into a neighborhood in Imperial on Wednesday afternoon, which is located in southern California nearly 90 miles east of San Diego.
The jet, which was based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, crashed at 4:20 p.m., destroying three homes and causing the evacuation of eight. There were no reports of civilian injuries, and the pilot only sustained minor injuries after ejecting himself from the aircraft.
"I heard like a pop and a whistle. And right when I looked up is when I saw the pilot eject," Shaun Penniman told KGTV.
Marine officials have started clean-up operations and are investigating the cause of the crash, said the Marines in a statement.
"It felt like a bomb was thrown in the backyard,'' said Adriana Ramos as she described how the crash shook her house.
This is the second Harrier jet to go down in a month from Yuma air base. Another one crashed in a desert in Arizona May 9.
