THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120316
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
One sailor was killed and another injured Wednesday night when a fighter jet ejection seat they were working on activated, the Navy said.
The names of the victims were withheld until relatives could be notified.
The accident happened about 8:20 p.m. in a hangar at Oceana Naval Air Station, said Cmdr. Kevin Wensing, a spokesman for Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force.
The sailors were conducting routine maintenance on an F-14 Tomcat assigned to Fighter Squadron 101 when the ejection seat mechanism fired.
Wensing said that it was unclear exactly what happened, but that the accident is under investigation.
The Nightingale helicopter ambulance landed at the air station and carried the most seriously injured man to the trauma center at Virginia Beach General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The other man was taken to the base clinic for treatment of minor injuries.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL by CNB