NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, Va. (WAVY) — A Navy pilot is recovering after ejecting from an F/A-18E Super Hornet Wednesday morning off the coast of Virginia.
LT Jackie Parashar, a public affairs officer for Naval Air Force Atlantic, confirmed to WAVY the mishap took place just before 10 a.m.
The pilot, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, was conducting a routine training flight at the time, the Navy said. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. The pilot ejected and the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The Navy has not indicated yet what led to the crash.
Search and rescue crews responded and located the pilot at 11:21 a.m.
Dale Gauding, a spokesperson for Sentara, confirmed the Coast Guard brought a Navy pilot to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Wednesday. The Navy only confirmed the pilot went to the hospital for medical evaluation. They did not provide details on the pilot’s condition.
The F/A-18E remains in the water at this time.
The Navy said the cause of the mishap is under investigation.
Another fighter jet from USS Harry S. Truman crashes into sea
Fighter jet slips off the hangar deck of a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, one minor injury
This is the latest in a series of crashes involving Hampton Roads-based Navy fighter jets. In May, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was lost in the Red Sea after it went over the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier during an attempted landing, and crashed into the sea. Both pilots ejected. About a week earlier, another fighter jet, an F/A-18E, also fell from the Truman into the Red Sea while sailors were towing the aircraft.
F/A-18 shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident: US military
In December, an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Ocean, was shot down during an apparent “friendly fire” incident. That jet also took off from the Truman.
According to Naval Air Systems Command, the F/A-18E Super Hornet costs around $67 million.
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