Dual-engine failure caused Navy jet crash

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A rare dual-engine failure caused a Navy jet to crash into a Virginia Beach apartment complex in April shortly after taking off from a nearby base, according to an investigative report released yesterday.

No one was killed when the F/A-18D Hornet crashed into the Mayfair Mews apartment complex, although the impact destroyed 27 apartments, injured seven and displaced dozens. Navy officials say the two-man crew ejected at the last second possible to survive, 50 feet above the ground. The entire flight lasted 70 seconds and the plane's peak altitude was 425 feet.

The plane was on its way to the Atlantic Ocean over a heavily populated area for a routine training mission at the time.

The Navy said human error was not to blame and there would be no disciplinary action against the crew, who have not been publicly identified.

The commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic, Rear Adm. Ted Branch, said it was the first time there has been a dual-engine failure in an F/A-18 and that the failures were unrelated. Had only one engine failed, Branch said it's likely the jet could have continued flying.

Branch said he continues to have full confidence in the safety of the airplane, which the Navy has been flying for more than 30 years.

The report said the engines failed for different reasons. The right engine stopped working after it ingested a flammable liquid, according to the report. The problem with the left engine had to do with its afterburner not igniting.

Despite the failures, the investigative report said there was still a possibility that the plane could have continued flying if the crew had realized that the first serious vibration they felt and heard coming from the right side of plane was not a blown tire.