Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers will take to the Pacific skies again on Friday, two weeks after one of the Okinawa-based aircraft crashed into the ocean during air combat training.
The jet's pilot survived with only minor bruises sustained while ejecting, but all Harriers on the Japanese island immediately were grounded until they could be deemed safe and an investigation could be launched, according to Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, III Marine Expeditionary Force commander.
The Marines will not say exactly why the aircraft went down until the investigation is completed, but they have ruled out any cause "systemic in the aircraft, aircrew or maintenance," Nicholson said at a Wednesday press conference aboard Camp Foster, Okinawa.
"Based on the preliminary inquiry and what we know now, the airplane is safe," he said. "I will not put my pilots at risk in an unsafe airplane."
The Sept. 22 crash -- approximately 115 nautical miles east of the Okinawan coast -- was the third major Harrier incident this year.
An AV-8B went down off the North Carolina coast on May 6; on March 8, another was engulfed in flames aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge while preparing to launch a strike against the Islamic State.
The Harrier, once was referred to by pilots as the "widow-maker," had the highest accident rate per flying hour of any Marine fixed-wing aircraft from 2011 to 2015, according to data from the Naval Safety Center.
Nicholson also sought to reassure residents of Okinawa that the Harriers are not a safety threat.
"I want you to know we have done everything over the last 10 to 12 days to ensure that when we make the decision to fly again, the safety of our pilots and the safety of the Okinawan people is number one," Nicholson said.
Marine Corps Times staff reporter Jeff Schogol contributed to this report.
