An F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from Abraham Lincoln. (PHOTO: U.S. Navy file)
OFF SAN DIEGO, Calif – A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed into the water off Southern California while approaching an aircraft carrier Wednesday night, the Navy said. The pilot of the F/A-18E Super Hornet ejected, was recovered and is in stable condition aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the Navy said Thursday morning.
The F/A-18E Super Hornet is based Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, according to WTKR.com.
The crash happened hours after a separate military plane went down in California: the nonfatal crash of one of the Marines’ AV-8B Harriers into a neighborhood in Imperial, California.
A AV-8B Harrier jet based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona crashed Wednesday, June 4, 2014, in a neighborhood in Imperial, California, the Marines said in a statement.
In Wednesday night’s crash in the Pacific, the Super Hornet was on approach to the Carl Vinson when it hit the water about 10 p.m. PT, the Navy said.
The jet hasn’t been recovered. The cause of the crash will be investigated, the Navy said.
All air operations aboard the Carl Vinson were suspended after the crash. The carrier had been taking part in an exercise in preparation for a deployment, the Navy said.
