Date:	Monday 30 August 1999
Time:
Type:	McDonnell Douglas AV-8B-6-MC Harrier II
Owner/operator:	VX-5, NAWS China Lake
Registration:	162721
MSN:	512038
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Saline Valley, Death Valley National Park, CA -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	NAWS China Lake, CA (KNID)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Kevin Leffler lost his life when his AV-8A Harrier (BuNo 162721) crashed during a routine test flight in Saline Valley, Death Valley National Park, CA., on August 30, 1999.

Col. Leffler ejected into high winds over Death Valley National Park, dropped into a canyon and died when his head struck a boulder.

Three years before Col. Kevin E. Leffler's death, the Marines discovered that a wrong-sized washer had been installed in some Harrier engines. The error caused two nonfatal crashes. The Naval Air Systems Command ordered a partial inspection of the Harrier fleet for the problem part. The engine in Leffler's AV-8B was never checked. Investigators say the washer caused Leffler's plane to lose power over Death Valley National Park, forcing him to eject at approx co ordinates 36° 44′ 59.6″ N, 117° 48′ 52.7″ W

A highly experienced pilot with nearly 3,000 hours of flight time, Leffler, 49, was nine months from retirement. He was commanding officer of the Marine Aviation Detachment at the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, Calif. He had survived a midair collision of A-4s in 1979.

https://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2927151
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6725
http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Shipmates.htm
http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries21.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Weapons_Station_China_Lake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline_Valley,_California

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Aug-2011 03:48	Dr. John Smith	Added