2 Marines Grounded for 'Obscene' Flight Path

Further punishment possible after penis-shaped pattern
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2018 5:03 AM CST
Marines Used Training Flight to Draw Penis
A US Navy T-34C flies in 2009.   (Wikimedia)

The Marine Corps has grounded two aviators who used a training flight to draw a penis over California's Salton Sea just a year after a similar stunt. The phallus-shaped flight path near Palm Springs on Oct. 23, shared online after it was detected using flight-tracking software, was traced to a T-34C training aircraft. That plane was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in Miramar, where an investigation was launched, reports ABC News. The two aviators responsible for the "obscene image" are no longer flying, a rep told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.

They are, however, "providing vital squadron ground support functions," the rep continued. "Disciplinary or administrative action, if any, will be determined following the completion of the investigation," he added. The offending pair, who appeared to practice the penis shape over land before the rather impressive display, might've actually been inspired by their counterparts in the Navy: Two Navy aviators stationed at Whidbey Island, Wash., were disciplined last November for drawing a penis shape with contrails from their fighter jets, adds ABC News. (This pilot chose a more family-friendly flight path.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X