Two jets crashed over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday after colliding in midair while operating at sea.
One pilot was rescued and is in fair condition. He is being treated aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the ship that the two F/A-18 Hornets took off from.
The crash happened about 290 miles west of Wake Island, which is about 2,400 miles west of Hawaii, Navy 7th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Lauren Cole told CNN.
The jets have not been recovered, and there has been no sign of the other pilot. A Navy cruiser, a destroyer and helicopters have been sent out to search.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9EZMh0qen4
The statement from the Navy specified, “The search for the second pilot includes guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) and helicopters assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 15 (HSC 15) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 (HSM 73).”
The jets that crashed are from Carrier Air Wing 17, the Navy said. They were assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 94 and Strike Fighter Squadron 113.
The F/A-18C is a twin-engine, single-seat strike fighter. It was designed to function both as a fighter, in instances of battle with enemy aircraft, and as an attack craft for bombing, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogmQS2cBG94
At 56 feet long with a wingspan of 40½ feet, Hornet C jets are able to reach speeds greater than Mach 1.7. They can also fly at altitudes of more than 50,000 feet.
These particular jets have been deployed since the late 1980s.
“The cause of the incident is still under investigation,” the Navy statement said.
Good luck to search crews working to locate the missing pilot from the second jet that crashed over the pacific ocean. Hopefully they will find him alive like his fellow pilot.