The U.S. military has identified the Marine Corps pilot who was killed when his combat jet crashed near a San Diego base during a training flight. Maj. Andrew Mettler was piloting an F/A-18D Hornet when it went down at 11:54 p.m. Thursday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Searchers recovered Mettler’s body at the site, and the crash remains under investigation. Mettler was a native of Georgia and known as “Simple Jack.” He was commissioned in 2007 and was a leader in his squadron, the Fighting Bengals. The crash site was described as government property east of the air station.
