Squadron commander loses his job after Maverick-style fast and low pass at Top Gun base

A squadron commander has lost his job after his jet flew too low and too fast during a ‘sundown’ ceremony at the base where Top Gun was filmed in San Diego.

Lt. Col. Ralph Featherstone was relieved from his post as commanding officer of the Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 due to his ‘poor’ judgment.

He was flying in the rear seat of the F/A-18D fighter jet and claimed that he did not know the pilot was going to perform the potentially dangerous pass.    

‘I can’t tell you why the pilot descended,’ he said. 

‘Obviously I’m unhappy with the way this turned out, but, as commander I’m ultimately responsible. If deemed outside the box, I’m responsible.’

He said it’s unlikely he will be promoted after this and that his career is essentially over.   

The ceremony was held to mark the transition from old F-18 fighter planes to the new F-35C Lightning II jets. 

The pass took place at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in Southern California, which was once home to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, otherwise known as TOP GUN.  It where the hit 1986 film starring Tom Cruise was filmed.  

Featherstone was in the rear seat of an F/A-18D fighter jet during a ‘sundown’ ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on January 23

Video obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune shows the plane flying at an unusually low altitude and a higher-than-permitted speed as onlookers observed from the ground

Video obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune shows the dangerously low pass.

While Featherstone was not the pilot who flew the plane, as commanding officer he is ultimately held responsible for the actions of his subordinates.

The 3rd Marine Air Wing said in a statement that Featherstone was ‘relieved for cause following concerns of poor judgment.’

“The relief came as a surprise from an otherwise exceptionally performing commander with a long and distinguished career,’ the statement says.

The ‘sundown’ ceremony marks the end of the squadron’s usage of the F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets (seen in the above stock image)

The squadron is set to incorporate the new F-35C Lightning II, the next generation of fighter jets

‘It is a necessity to enforce standards and is vital that 3rd MAW provides strong and effective leadership to promote operational excellence, trust, and combat readiness.’

Air Wing Spokesman 1st Lt. Fredrick Walker told the Union-Tribune Featherstone is an ‘honorable Marine who upholds the values of the Marine Corps.’

He declined to go into further detail about what caused the firing.

Featherstone told the Union-Tribune on Friday that while he acknowledged the jet flew lower and faster than was allowed in the flight plan, he did not receive any complaints from either the flight control tower or the Federal Aviation Administration.

‘We had landing traffic,’ Featherstone said.

‘We had to de-conflict from that and felt sandwiched in a little bit.’

The image above shows Featherstone taking command of the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 during a change of command ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on April 19, 2019

Featherstone said that he ‘can’t tell you why’ the pilot which flew the fighter jet descended, though he added that he received no complaints from either the control tower or the Federal Aviation Administration

Featherstone said that the dismissal likely means the end of his career as a military officer

Featherstone said that while he was in the rear seat, he had his attention focused on another plane nearby that was landing.  

He told the Union-Tribune that he believes his military career is essentially over in that it is unlikely he will ever be promoted as a result of the incident.

The Marine Corps says it has assigned an interim officer-in-charge to oversee the squadron’s transition to the new fighter jets.