A US Navy pilot was being evaluated for injuries after an F/A-18C Hornet crashed Tuesday near Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev. The Hornet was conducting a routine training flight and was returning to base when it crashed at about 10:45 a.m. approximately 10 miles southeast of the base, according to a Navy news release. The pilot ejected and was taken to Banner Churchill Regional Medical Center and no details on the pilot’s condition were released. This was the second crash of an F-18 within a week, following the fatal crash of a Marine Corps F/A-18C during a training flight near Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. The pilot, Maj. Richard Norton, was a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, Marine Aircraft Group 11 stationed at MCAS Miramar, Calif.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3