Date:	Wednesday 21 June 2000
Time:
Type:	McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
Owner/operator:	VMA-211 USMC
Registration:	164145
MSN:	218
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Twentynine Palms, California -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	MCAS Yuma, Arizona (KNYL)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
caught fire and crashed at MCAS Twenty Nine Palms, CA Jun 21, 2000. Pilote ejected safely.

In July 2000 Aviation Systems Command ordered a temporary suspension of flight operations for a portion of the Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier fleet. The decision to temporarily suspend flight operations was based upon preliminary engineering findings that pointed to the number three engine bearing assembly in the F402-RR-408 engine as the likely cause of an engine fire that resulted in the loss of an AV-8B during a training mission at Twenty-Nine Palms, CA on 21 June 2000.

The pilot of that aircraft ejected safely. Officials addressed concerns about the number three engine bearing assemblies when they previously ordered a recurring 15-flight hour oil sampling/analysis process. Although these precautions successfully identified problems in at least two engines recently, they were unable to identify the symptoms of the impending failure that led to the June 21 mishap.

Until the cause of this latest engine failure is fully under-stood, Naval Air Systems Command ordered suspension of flight operations to ensure the safety of the pilots and aircraft. The F402 Engine Group team to include Rolls Royce, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point and the Naval Air Systems Command Team, completed their review of the engineering findings of the investigation. At that time, the commander of Naval Air Systems Command determined the course of action required to return the fleet to flight status. This action affected 105 AV-8B Harriers, 11 of which are deployed. AV-8B aircraft with F402-RR-406 engines installed were not affected by this flight restriction because of a different number three bearing design.

[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries22.htm]l
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/av-8-ops.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20170510042107/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/PROJECT/YEAR_Pages/2000.htm

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
25-Jul-2009 22:55	Harmy	Added
07-Aug-2011 11:50	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
28-Dec-2019 16:46	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]