SAN DIEGO -- The Navy's first female F-14 Tomcat pilot was killed off the coast of Southern California while attempting to land on the USS Abraham Lincoln Tuesday, the Navy said Wednesday. The pilot, Lt. Kara Hultgreen, 29, of San Antonio, crashed into the sea as she was on approach to the Alameda-based aircraft carrier.

The Tomcat's radar-intercept officer, Lt. Matthew Klemish, 26, of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, ejected and was rescued by Navy helicopters. Klemish suffered minor injuries, a Navy spokeswoman said. The accident occurred at 3 p.m. in fair weather and is under investigation...

In an interview just after her July qualification, Hultgreen said: "It always surprises me when people ask me, `Why do you want to do this?' And I think, God, who doesn't want to do this? This is the greatest job in the entire world."

She called her fighter jet "gorgeous" and said of her qualification, "It's such an adrenaline rush. You just feel bulletproof after that."

Go Back