Navy says pilot safely ejected when plane went off runway
May 22, 2015, 6:06 PM
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A pilot safely ejected into San Diego Bay on Friday when a training jet went off the end of a runway after landing at Naval Air Station North Island.
Boaters rescued the pilot from the bay that separates the Navy base in Coronado from downtown San Diego, the Navy said.
The pilot was taken by helicopter to be evaluated at Naval Medical Center San Diego. The Navy did not elaborate on the pilot’s condition in its brief statement.
The pilot was training for aircraft-landing qualifications when the crash occurred. Lt. Reagan Lauritzen, a Navy spokeswoman, said there was no one else aboard.
A downed aircraft could be seen in the bay’s shallow waters, barely offshore from the base.
The cause was under investigation, the Navy said.
The Navy T-45C Goshawk is a tandem-seat jet used to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots. The downed aircraft was assigned to Training Squadron Nine, stationed in Meridian, Mississippi.
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