A 28-year-old Marine officer from Florida was among those killed when a military tanker and a fighter jet collided during midair refueling over Japan.
Capt. Jahmar F. Resilard was an F/A-18 Hornet pilot based out of a Marine Corps air station in western Japan and was recovered from the ocean following the training mishap.
A second Marine was rescued alive, and search-and-rescue efforts continue for five more who went missing after the Hornet and KC-130 aircraft went down around 2 a.m. Thursday.
“He was an effective and dedicated leader who cared for his Marines and fellow fighter pilots with passion. His warm and charismatic nature bound us together and we will miss him terribly,” said Lt. Col. James Compton, commanding officer of Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.
The Marines have bases on mainland Japan as well as Okinawa and regularly do training in the region.
The collision is under investigation and is among the worst air mishaps for the service since a KC-130 threw a propeller blade, broke apart, and smashed into a Mississippi field last year, killing 15 Marines and a sailor.
The Air Force and Navy blamed that earlier deadly crash on multiple maintenance failures that allowed corrosion to form a crack on the blade. The services said they have rectified the problems and replaced the part on other aircraft.
