At Least One Person Reported Hurt

REAL TIME UPDATE: 0600 EDT -- One person was hurt Wednesday when a bomb-laden Marine Corps Harrier went down in a residential neighborhood of Yuma, AZ.

As ANN reported Wednesday evening, the pilot of the aircraft was able to eject before the aircraft impacted the ground. There was no immediate word on what caused the crash.

"The airplane hit and exploded in my yard," Stacey Pavlak, 21, told the Arizona Republic. She said she was housesitting while her parents were away on a camping trip. "The whole back yard was just blazing fire. I ran outside. The house was full of black smoke. There was live ammunition on board. You could hear it going off, like somebody was firing. I just wanted to get out of there."

The AV8B Harrier was armed with four 500-pound gravity bombs as well as 300 rounds of 25mm ammunition.

Police evacuated some 1,300 homes in the neighborhood surrounding the crash site as firefighters kept cool the ordnance that hadn't cooked off by hosing it down. By 2200 local, all but 52 residents had been allowed to return home.

The pilot, attached to Marine Attack Squadron 513, was based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Military officials said he was returning from a training mission when the mishap occurred.

"The pilot ejected safely," Marine Corporal Michael Nease told the Republic. "He was able to walk around." The pilot was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

The search for unexploded ordnance was slated to continue Thursday morning.

FMI: www.usmc.mil