Crash of Military Training Flight under Investigation in Alabama

The Navy says Marines from Maryland and Florida were killed when their plane crashed into an Alabama mountain during a training flight.

Instructor pilot Maj. David Yaggy, 34, of Sparks, Md., and 2nd Lt. Alexander Prezioso, 23, of Lake Worth, Fla., were on a routine training flight when the crash occurred March 14 near Ashville, Ala.

The two Marines were members of Training Squadron Six at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla.

Yaggy was described as a decorated combat pilot with 10 Air Medals and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Prezioso as a student in primary flight training at the base.

The crash occurred on the south rim of Chandler Mountain, about 60 miles northeast of Birmingham. The cause remains under investigation.