Body of Second Marine Pilot Is Recovered in Southern Iraq
WASHINGTON — Military investigators said Wednesday that they had found the body of the second of two Marine Corps pilots whose jets crashed Monday in southern Iraq.
The body of the first pilot, Maj. John C. Spahr, was found Tuesday. The second pilot’s identity was withheld until his family was notified, the U.S. Central Command said.
Both were flying single-seat F/A-18 Hornet fighters at about 30,000 feet when radio contact was lost. Officials said that investigators thought the two planes had collided. They had taken off from the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.
The Central Command statement reiterated that there was no indication of hostile fire.
It did not say how much distance separated the wreckage of the two fighter jets.
Spahr was executive officer of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, based at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. He was a native of Cherry Hill, N.J.
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