AV-8B Harrier Last Flight of All Time - Flybys, Touch n Gos, Water Salute, Engine Shutdown
Powered by a Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine, this was the last flight of all time for this AV-8B Harrier II+ (BuNo 164560). Accompanied by a TAV-8 Harrier II (BuNo 163186), it left MCAS Cherry Point in the afternoon on 7/15/24 to make its final journey under its own power. It wasn't long before it reached the Hickory Regional Airport, where this video was filmed and where the Harrier would retire to the Hickory Aviation Museum. The AV-8B II+, piloted by LTCOL J. B. “Traper” Cumbie, made three passes, followed by two touch n goes before its final landing. It taxied down the runway, through the water salute, and to the ramp where the engine was shut down for the last time.
According to NAVAIR:
"BUNO 164560 entered service in 1994 and flew with Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 231, 542, and 223, logging 6,888 flight hours in support of multiple Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments, Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments, humanitarian efforts and Request for Forces."
