Marine jet crashes near N.C. base, killing pilot

Plane goes down in woods near one of the base's two runways

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updated 3:34 p.m. ET Dec. 29, 2008

HAVELOCK, N.C. - A Marine jet crashed Monday near a base in eastern North Carolina, killing the pilot.

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point spokesman Mike Barton said the single-seat plane crashed about 12:15 p.m. in woods near one of the base's two runways.

Local authorities said the crash did not affect any of the few homes in the area.

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Another Harrier crashed in February near the base, but the pilot wasn't injured. The aircraft can hover and take off and land vertically.

Monday's crash comes in the same month that another Marine jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood near its base, killing four people on the ground.