US Navy fighter jet worth $67,000,000 crashes into sea
A US military fighter jet worth $67million crashed at high speed into a California bay.
The E/A-18G Growler plunged into the water, nose first, and created a massive splash in San Diego Bay a short distance from land around 10.15am on Wednesday.
Both aviators ejected before the jet struck the water and were rescued by a Premier Sportsfishing boat and taken to a Customs and Border Protection Craft, according to Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Christopher Sappey.
The aircraft was doing a ‘g-around maneuver’ which involves taking off after landing.
A live webcam of the harbor captures the Premier crew telling the Coast Guard that the jet pilots ejected immediately after takeoff.
‘We’re on our way to help assist,’ said a man around 10.14am. ‘They’re in the water.’
Moments after the Premier approached the aviators, the jet entered the water roughly 1,000 feet away.
‘It was crazy,’ said Premier captain Brandon Viets, adding that the aviators ‘seemed very calm for what had just happened’.
‘Their composure was very impressive,’ he told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Both aviators were taken to a nearby hospital and are both in stable condition, according to US Navy officials.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known and is under investigation.
A two seater, the E/A-18G Growler is ‘the first newly-designed electronic warfare aircraft produced in more than 35 years’ and worth $67million, according to the US Navy’s website.
The crash happened exactly two weeks after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet and both plunged into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, killing all 67 people aboard both aircrafts. The military chopper was conducting an annual proficiency training flight at the time of the collision on January 29.
Two days later, an air ambulance plane crashed on a residential street in Philadelphia, killing three of the six people on board.
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