Marine Pilot Killed in Harrier Crash

HAVELOCK, North Carolina - A Marine jet has crashed near a base in eastern North Carolina, killing the pilot.

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point spokesman Mike Barton says the single-seat plane crashed about 12:15 p.m. in woods near one of the base's two runways.

Local authorities say the crash did not affect any of the few homes in the area.

Another Harrier crashed in February near the base but the pilot wasn't injured. The aircraft can hover and take off and land vertically.

Monday's crash comes in the same month that another Marine jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood near its base, killing four people on the ground.