Pilot of crashed Marine Corps jet in stable condition

JACKSONVILLE — The pilot of a Marine Corps jet that crashed into a national forest in Florida is in stable condition, Marine Corps officials said Monday.

An AV8B Harrier with Camp Lejeune’s 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit crashed just west of Lake George in the Ocala National Forest near Salt Springs, Fla., at about 8 p.m. Sunday, according to officials aboard the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship where the jet was based.

The pilot, Capt. Jarrod L. Klement with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced), ejected from the jet and suffered non-life threatening injuries, officials said. Local authorities airlifted Klement to Shands Cancer Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where military officials said he is in stable condition.

A witness told the Ocala, Fla., Star-Banner he saw the pilot eject from the jet. He and his grandfather were the first to reach Klement, who used a borrowed cell phone to call his wife, according to the story in the Star-Banner.

The jet was participating in a Composite Training Unit exercise as part of pre-deployment training for the 26th MEU, officials said.

Military investigators are looking into what caused the crash, officials said.

The MEU, which is comprised of Battalion Landing Team 3/8, Combat Logistics Battalion 26, and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced), is scheduled for deployment in the fall, according to previous Daily News reports.

Ashley McErlean can be contacted at 910-219-8455 or amcerlean@freedomenc.com.