Probe under way of midair collision

PORTLAND – Investigators on Thursday combed through the wreckage of a midair collision between two fighter jets over the Columbia River, but said they might not determine a cause for months.

Wednesday’s crash killed a Marine reserve pilot and his observer and left the pilot of the other jet with minor injuries.

About 30 Marine reservists and 50 volunteers from the Oregon National Guard searched the fields outside Arlington, tagging and mapping debris for investigators to find later, Guard spokesman Maj. Mike Allegre said.

Divers from the U.S. Air Force reserve searched the river, where 80 percent of the wreckage fell, he said. Meanwhile, 20 members of the Portland Air National Guard set up tents for the searchers, with power generators, air conditioning and lights.

Authorities say the fighter jets were returning from a low-altitude training mission Wednesday from the Oregon National Guard’s air base in Portland to a bombing range in Boardman.

The planes had completed a flight to practice basic training maneuvers and were returning to base in what is known as “administrative flight mode,” said Maj. Tom Nelson, a Marine Corps spokesman in New Orleans.

That means the jets were likely flying level and in formation about 50 to 60 feet apart, he said.

Mechanical problems were likely not the cause of Wednesday’s crash, according to Jaime Hunter, editor of Jane’s Aircraft Upgrades. “It must be something to do with operational reasons,” Hunter said, calling the F-18 a “reliable and safe” airplane.