2003

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The Year 2003

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January

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
17th January 2003	USMC	F/A-18D			San Clemente	ejected safely		Martin-Baker NACES
						ejected safely		Martin-Baker NACES
14th January 2003	Chile AF	Mirage V			Antofagasta, Chile	Pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
26th January 2003	USN	F‑14D Tomcat	163901 AJ 102	VF‑213	Crashed on approach to the carrier in Caribbean 60 M E of PR, USA	One crew member ejected safely		Martin-Baker NACES
						Other crew member ejected CAN ANYONE ADD DETAILS		Martin-Baker NACES
26th January 2003	photo USAF				catastrophic failure of the number four bearing, resulting in engine failure shortly after take‑oft from Osan AB. Tried to glide back to base but failed in bad weather conditions crashed Hwasong City, Kyonggi province, South Korea	pilot ejected seconds before the aircraft impacted the ground.and sustained only minor injuries		Lockheed
	USAF	U‑2S	80‑1095 BB	5th RS/9th W Osan AB

February

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
11th February 2003	Spanish AF	EF-18A			Gando, Gran Canaria	pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
11th February 2003	USN	EA‑6B Prowler	161116 NJ‑567	VAO‑129 USS John C Stennis	rolled over the side of carrier in Pacific off southern CA, USA	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
						ejected safely		Martin-Baker
						ejected safely		Martin-Baker
18th February 2003	USN	F/A‑18C Hornet	163748 NG 411	VFA‑147 USS Carl Vinson	Western Pacific	pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
25th February 2003 1618 (local time)	Bangla Desh	Chengdu FT-7B	430		Left wheel collapsed on take off for anAdvanced Combat Manoeuvre (ACM.) Zia, International Airport, Dhaka, BanglaDesh	Squadron Leader Ahsanul Kabir ejected safely		Martin-Baker
25th February 2003 1618 (local time)	Bangla Desh	Chengdu FT-7B	430			Flight Lieutenant A A M M Shamsuzzahan ejected safely sustained minor injuries		Martin-Baker

March

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
7th March 2003	Brazil AF	Mirage III			Brazil	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
8th March 2003	USAF	T‑38A	68‑8141 HO	7th CTS/49th FW Eglin AFB, FL, USA	stalled on approach at Valparaiso, nr Eglin AFB, FL, USA	pilot ejected safely		Weber
17th March 2003	USAF	F‑15C Eagle	80‑0030 OT	422nd TES/53rd	collided with F‑15C 83‑0040 nr Mormon Peak on Nellis Test and Training Range, 65 M NE of Nellis AFB, NV, USA,	pilot ejected safely		ACES II
Friday 14th March 2003	Pakistani Air Force	F-7			Routine operational training mission, crashed 20 miles west of city of Jhang (Punjab province) near the central Pakistan	pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
25th March 2003	Finland	Hawk			Salla	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
25th March 2003	Finland	Hawk			Salla	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
30th March 2003	Malaysian AF	F-18			Malaysia	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
30th March 2003	Malaysian AF	F-18			Malaysia	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
31st March 2003	Saudi Royal Air Force	F-15C		King Faisal Air Base	caught fire and was burned due to undercarriage problem on take-off	pilot ejected safely		ACES II

April
Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
Wednesday, 1st April 2003	USN					Pilot "Vinny," ejected safely	"Gordo" ejected safely with only scrapes on his wrists	Martin-Baker NACES
Wednesday, 1st April 2003	USN	F-14A Tomcat	158620 NF-104	VF-154 USS Kitty Hawk CV 63	Engine failure, not hostile fire. Tomcat suffered a mechanical failure crashed in southern Iraq	Pilot "Vinny," ejected safely	"Gordo" ejected safely with only scrapes on his wrists	Martin-Baker NACES
1st April 2003	Brazilian AF	MB-326			Sao Paulo	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
1st April 2003	Brazilian AF	MB-326			Sao Paulo	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
1st April 2003	SAAF	Cheetah			South Africa	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
1st April 2003	USN	S‑3B	160584 NE 707	VS‑38 USS Constellation	went overboard into Persian Gulf when brakes failed following landing	ejected safely		Lockheed
1st April 2003	USN	S‑3B	160584 NE 707	VS‑38 USS Constellation		ejected safely		Lockheed
Wednesday, 1st April 2003	USN					Pilot "Vinny," ejected safely	"Gordo" ejected safely with only scrapes on his wrists	Martin-Baker
Wednesday, 1st April 2003	USN	F-14 Tomcat		USS Kitty Hawk	Tomcat suffered a mechanical failure crashed in Iraq	Pilot "Vinny," ejected safely	"Gordo" ejected safely with only scrapes on his wrists	Martin-Baker
Thursday, 2nd April 2003	USMC	AV-8B Harrier	165391 EG‑55 HMM‑263	Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 Cherry Point	attempting to land aboard the USS Nassau in the Persian Gulf	pilot ejected safely		Stencel
Thursday, 2nd April 2003 3:45 p.m. EST	USN	F/A-18 Hornet		VFA 195 based in Atsugi, Japan deployed with Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW 5) aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63)	Operation Iraqi Freedom - hit by two U.S. Patriot Missiles in a "friendly fire" accident in the area near Kerbala, Iraq	Lt. Nathan Dennis White ejected but found dead on ground on Saturday		Martin-Baker
Thursday 4th April 2003	Indian Air Force	MiG-23		Halwara airbase	fire in mid-air - crashed over a residential area in Mullanpur Dakha village, 15 km from Ludhiana - ground casualties	Flt. Lt. P. S. Gill ejected		KM-1
Monday 7th April 2003	Indian Air Force	MiG-21		Ambala	crashed into a milk processing plant Monday in the northern state of Haryana - ground casualties	pilot ejected and admitted to the military hospital.
Monday 7th April 2003	Italian AF	Tornado			Puglia, Italy	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
Monday 7th April 2003	Italian AF	Tornado			Puglia, Italy	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
Tuesday 8th April 2003	USAF	A‑10A Thunderbolt II "Warthog" Facing 43	78‑0691	190th FS ID ANG	hit by SAM (truck mounted Roland 2) nr Baghdad Airport, Iraq	Maj. Jim Ewald, ejected and was rescued by Coalition ground forces near the airport.		ACES II
Saturday 12th April 2003	Pakistani Air Force	Chinese-built Nanchang A-5			crashed at Misriyal area near Chakwal, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Islamabad	Zaheer Ahmed ejected safely		Martin-Baker
17th April 2003	USMC	F-18			San Clemente Island	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
17th April 2003	USMC	F-18			San Clemente Island	ejected safely		Martin-Baker
Tuesday 29th April 2003 11:49 am (0349 GMT)	Taiwan AF	AIDC A2		Chingchuankang air base	Mechanical failure. crashed into a mountain 20 minutes after it took off Taichung	Major Wang Tsu-hsiang ejected safely		Martin-Baker
Tuesday 29th April 2003 11:49 am (0349 GMT)	Taiwan AF	AIDC A2		Chingchuankang air base		captain Sung Yao-tun ejected safely suffered only minor injuries.		Martin-Baker

May
Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
10th May 2003	French Air Force	Mirage F1 CT	247 - QP.	Groupe de Chasse 01.030 Alsace based at Colmar	engine failure during the RTB. Crashed on the horsetrack Mont de Marsan AB	Lieutenant Vianney Saillard "Saisai" ejected safely at 150 feet / 270 knots		Martin-Baker
Saturday 11th May 2003 Just before 1 p.m	Advanced Training Systems International, Inc. of Mesa, Ariz	A- 4 Skyhawk			crashed into the Great Salt Lake	Philip Steven Kenny ejected from the aircraft but fell to his death when his parachute failed to open.		Escapac
26th May 2003	CAF	CF-18 Hornet		416 Tactical Fighter Squadron	Malfunctioning control system caused an uncontrollable spin. Crashed while returning from a training mission on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range during Exercise Maple Flag 36.	Capt. Kevin Naismith ejected at approx. 3000ft. at high speed but died of his injuries received during ejection.		Martin-Baker
29th May 2003	USAF	F‑16C	89‑2052	36th FS/51st FW	Engine failure after bird strike shortly after take‑off nr main gate of Osan AB, South Korea	pilot ejected safely		ACES II

June
Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	seat	photo
1st June 2003	owned by Peter Hellier	Hunter F-6	G-BVVC	Hunter Flying Club, Exeter	During transit back from an air display at Port Rush Northern Ireland, total electrical failure followed by engine failure Crashed north of Aberystwth	Craig Penrice ejected at 2000ft, 250 kts Unfortunately breaking my back in the process, more metal inserted and a recovery to walking followed. Have since given up on flying on bang seats!		Martin-Baker
2nd June 2003	HAF	F-16C block 30		111 PM Nea Anhialos AFB	Suspected bird ingested into the engine. Crashed 3 n.miles from the base into a field near Volos	captain Pliatsikas Theodoros ejected safely and airlifted to the HAF 251 hospital for check-up by an air force rescue helicopter		ACES II
4th June 2003	USAF	F‑15E	87‑0186	334th FS/4th FW	Stricklands Crossroads, 3 M SE of Four Oaks, Johnston County, 35 M SE of Raleigh, 25 M W of Seymour Johnson AFB, NC, USA	ejected safely		ACES II
4th June 2003	USAF	F‑15E	87‑0186	334th FS/4th FW		ejected safely		ACES II
4th June 2003	Colombia AF	Kfir C7			Puerto Salgar	pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
10th June 2003	USAF	F‑16C	88‑0451	310th FS/56th FW	engine quit due to turbine blade failure and caught fire crashed 12 NM NW of Gila Bend, on Barry M Goldwater range, AZ. USA	pilot ejected safely		ACES II
11th June 2003	RN	Sea Harrier FRS 2			Aircraft became uncontrollable at 28,000ft and went into a spin. Off coast of North Devon	pilot Lt. Cdr. Robert Schwab ejected safely at 10,000 ft. He was rescued from the sea uninjured	7000th Life Saved	Martin-Baker Mk 10 H
12th June 2003	USAF	F‑16C	88‑0424	421st FS/388th FW	ran out of fuel; external tanks did not feed, 150 km NW of Baghdad, Iraq	pilot ejected safely and was rescued		ACES II
13th June 2003	USAF	F‑16C	85‑1445	61st FS/56th FW	Birdstrike with a turkey vulture which was ingested by engine which then failed 5 M S of Gila Bend, on Barry M Goldwater range, AZ, USA	pilot ejected safely		ACES II
Thursday 19th June 2003 7:42	Russian AF	MiG-29UB		Armavir aviation garrison, the Krasnodar territory, southern Russia	training flight - crew taken to the Armavir garrison's hospital.			K-36
Thursday 19th June 2003 7:42	Russian AF	MiG-29UB				Russian instructor Alexander Tarasov ejected [see also 30th August 1993]	Sergei Shapovalov	K-36
30th June 2003 15:00 hours	RoKAF	F‑16 Viper			very hard landing at Choongwon	The pilot ejected but the aircraft slid further on the runway		ACES II

July

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
Wednesday 2nd July 2003 4.28 p.m. (1228 GMT)	Russian A. F.	MiG-25		air force regiment near Monchegorsk, on the Kola Peninsula	training flight - engine failed during takeoff. - crashed into a lake by Mount Nyud on the outskirts of the city	Major Alexander Ryabov, safely ejected		KM-1
Monday 7th July 2003	IAF	MiG 23BN			crashed into paddy fields near Mahianwala Kalan village near Ludhiana	Flight Lieutenant Nikhil Gupta, ejected safely and was slightly injured		KM-1
16th July 2003	USMC	AV-8B Harrier	163201	VMAT‑203 Cherry Point	plane dropped into the Atlantic Ocean about 40 miles off shore Virginia Capes Ops Area, 30 M SSE of MICAS Cherry Point, NC, USA	1st Lt. D. A. Shipley ejected safely		Stencel
27th July 2003	USN	EA‑6B Prowler	158800 NH 503	Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135 USS Nimitz	Catastrophic engine fire that lead to a complete loss of hydraulics. Crashed approx 10 minutes after launch into Arabian Sea	LCDR Scott Craig (Pilot) ejected safely		Martin-Baker
						LT Warren "Peepers" Chen ejected safely		Martin-Baker
						LT Kyle Matthew ejected safely		Martin-Baker
						LT Christina Portnoy ejected safely		Martin-Baker
31st July 2003	USN	S‑3B	160122 AJ 702	VS‑24	NE of Lexington, GA, USA	ejected safely		Lockheed
31st July 2003	USN	S‑3B	160122 AJ 702	VS‑24	NE of Lexington, GA, USA	ejected safely		Lockheed

August

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
24th August 2003	Indian Navy					Lt Shiraz H Azad		Martin-Baker
		Sea Harrier FRS 51	IN 615	300 Sqdn	Cr in sea near the western state of Goa - tech failure during landing phase

7 August, 2003

September

Date

Air Force

A'cft

Unit / Serial

based

crashed

crew

photo

seat

5th September 2003

F18

Martin-Baker NACES

9th September 2003

USAF

F‑16C

89‑2084

35th FS/8th FW

in sea 56.5 M SW of Kunsan AB, South Korea

Capt. Kevin Dydyk ejected safely

ACES II

11th September 2003

USN

F/A‑18D

164198
AD 432

VFA‑106

Arrestor cable broke during landing and aircraft skidded into the water Atlantic off VA, USA

pilot ejected safely

Martin-Baker NACES

Sunday
14th September 2003

USAF

video takes a few moments to load

Thunderbirds F-16C crashed during display, Mountain Home AFB, ID. USA

Captain Christopher Strickland

ACES II

Thunderbirds

F-16C

87‑0327

22nd September 2003

USAF

F‑16C

84‑1303
EF

111th FS TX ANG

Engine caught fire due to turbine blade failure near Rosepine, between De Redder & Leesville, LA, USA

pilot ejected safely

ACES II

October

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
9th October 2003 12:10 today	HAF	TA-7C Corsair II	ser. No 156784	116 CW Araxos	mechanical failure during training mission, crashed in an area two miles south of the Araxos Military airport	ejected safely - taken to the 251 General Air Force Hospital		Escapac
9th October 2003 12:10 today	HAF	TA-7C Corsair II	ser. No 156784	116 CW Araxos		ejected safely - taken to the 251 General Air Force Hospital		Escapac
14th October 2003	USAF	T‑38A	66‑8368 EN	80th FTW, Sheppard AFB, TX. USA	crashed during take‑off	ejected safely		Weber
14th October 2003	USAF	T‑38A	66‑8368 EN	80th FTW, Sheppard AFB, TX. USA	crashed during take‑off	ejected safely		Weber
15th October 2003	USMC	F/A‑18A	206163 VE 147	VMFA‑115	Struck water during ACM. Crashed in sea 40 M off Hilton Head Island, SC, USA	Marine Capt. Matthew R. McInerney and Maj. Breton L. Saunders ejected safely WHO WAS IN WHICH AIRCRAFT		Martin-Baker
15th October 2003	USMC	F/A‑18A	163159 VE 204	VMFA‑115	Struck water during ACM. Crashed in sea 40 M off Hilton Head Island, SC, USA			Martin-Baker

November

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
Thursday 13th November 2003	South Korean Air Force	KAI KT-1 trainer		Sachon	crashed on a river bank shortly after taking off from an air base	instructor ejected safely		Martin-Baker Mk.16
Thursday 13th November 2003	South Korean Air Force	KAI KT-1 trainer		Sachon		trainee pilot was killed
15th November 2003 6:04	PLAAF	????	No. 18		Oil leakage due to fatigue rupture in tank	Pilot Kang Shuxiang ejected at 1,000ft		JALI
18th November 2003	USAF	A‑10A	79‑0143 WA	57th	engine failed following compressor stall near Dog Bone Lake, 20 M NE of Indian Springs, on Nevada Test & Training Range, NV At the time speed brakes were extended; aircraft lost speed and stalled	pilot ejected safely		ACES II
Thursday 27th November 2003 11.55 hrs	HAF	Mirage-2000BG	203	???	engine malfunction during training flight, crashed into the Aegean Sea west of Chios island	captain Kyriakos Dimitrakoulas, ejected safely and picked-up by HAF SAR helicopter and flown to HAF hospital		Martin-Baker
Thursday 27th November 2003 11.55 hrs	HAF	Mirage-2000BG	203	???		Flying officer Ioannis Hatzoudis, ejected safely and picked-up by HAF SAR helicopter and flown to HAF hospital		Martin-Baker
Wednesday 26th November 2003 11.00 hrs	HAF	A-7H Corsair II	(ser.No159918	117 CW base at Andravida	fuel loss, when flying over the sea between Zakynthos island and the Peloponese. The engine stopped while attempting to return to Andravida. Aircraft stalled as the pilot was flying to avoid residential areas. He ejected just before the Corsair hit the ground and skidded for over 500 metres stopping about 800 metres from the runway	wing commander Konstantinos Mitsopoulos [c/o of SOT (Scholio Oplon Taktikis)] ejected		Escapac

December

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
Thursday 4th December 2003 12:43 hours (local time)	IAF	MIG-29		Adampur air-base	aircraft developed some problem during routine flying crashed near Adampur in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, 25 kilometres south-east of the Adampur air-base	P. J. Mohammed ejected		K-36
Thursday 3rd December 2003	USMC	AV‑8B	CF	VMA‑211	control problems on final approach crashed between 21st & 22nd Street, Yuma, AZ	pilot ejected safely		Stencel
Tuesday 8th December 2003	USMC	AV‑8B	CF	VMA‑211	On post‑maintenance check flight. Chocolate Mountain range, CA, USA	pilot ejected safely		Stencel
Wednesday 9th December 2003 11h30L		F-16 AM		10th Wing based at Kleine Brogel	mid-air-collision over Failon, near Marche-en-Famenne. Lieutenant-Colonel Ronny Vaerten, was killed in the accident	Olt. Wouter Rombouts successfully ejected and suffered only minor injuries		ACES II
17th December 2003	USAF	F/A‑18C	XE	VX‑9, NAWS China Lake, CA, USA	Ran off runway during landing	pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker

2003-10-14
Pilots from MIG-31 aircraft survived
Both pilots of the MiG-31 aircraft that crashed in the Tver region have survived and are undergoing medical examination, the Russian emergencies ministry reported.

The incident took place Tuesday at 2.54 Moscow time in the Staritsky district near the Borovaya village. According to preliminary information, the aircraft's uncontrollable fall was caused by an engine ignition.

Reports say no victims or damage have been registered at the site of the accident.

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