Marines pause flight operations for 24 hours after 2 jets crash in less than a week

US Marines halt all flight operations after jet crashes

Marine Corps orders all aircraft to stand down after two accidents in less than a week

The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered all of its aircraft to stand down for one day after two F/A-18C Hornets from the same squadron crashed in the past week. One crash killed a pilot.

"There will be an operational pause for all [Marine Air Wings], not including deployed units for one day within the next seven business days," said Capt. Sarah Burns, a Marine spokesperson told Fox News in an email Thursday. Burns called the safety stand-down "routine."

Earlier this week, Fox News was first to report the second crash of a Marine F/A-18C Hornet in less than a week. In all, three planes from the same squadron, VMFA-232, have crashed in less than one year.

Marine commanders can decide exactly when within the next week to pause flights, Burns told the Marine Corps Times, which was first to report news of the 24-hour stand-down.

The first F/A-18C crash, in Southern California on July 28, killed 36-year-old Marine Maj. Richard Norton, known to family and friends as Sterling, who was based at Marine Air Station Miramar.

On Tuesday, another F/A-18C crash left a Navy pilot hospitalized. The incident unfolded east of Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada, a defense official said.

This past October, Marine Maj. Taj Sareen was killed when his F-18 Hornet crashed near RAF Lakenheath in eastern England.

Fox News was first to report the dire state of Marine Corps aviation. During a visit to two Marine Corps bases in April, Fox News learned that nearly 70% of Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets and a similar number of Ch-53 Super Stallion helicopters couldn't fly.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.