UPDATE: The crashed aircraft is reported to be a privately owned jet war bird, pictures clearly show a BAe T59 Hawk Trainer that has been severely burned. The aircraft is said to have impacted a vehicle killing one Marine on the ground. Although it is uncertain who this aircraft belongs to, Air USA has operated the rare T59 as private air support contractors for the DoD out of Yuma before.
Air USA's webpage: http://air-usa.com/aircraft
UPDATE: MCAS Miramar says this was not a Harrier but a non military aircraft. Other reports now state that it was private jet of some sort with two aboard and possibly an engine fire on takeoff. Whether this is a warbird or a business type jet, or a jet at all, remains unconfirmed. We will update this post as more info comes in.
Reports are coming in from Twitter that a Harrier with two crew aboard, which could only be a TAV-8B like the one seen below, crashed at the north end of MCAS Yuma, located in southern Arizona. MCAS Miramar reports that it was a civilian craft, not a military plane.
Although the remains of the jet appear to be a burning hulk, thankfully both pilots are said to have gotten out alive.
Today has been a hard day for military aviation and the US Army and the USMC, with a Black Hawk going down in Florida with 11 souls onboard. A search and rescue mission was hampered by poor visibility overnight and into the morning and is now growing around the vicinity of Eglin AFB, where the crash occurred.
More as we have it.
Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com