Two Marine F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets collided off San Diego on Wednesday morning, but both pilots survived – one by ejecting and the other by landing his crippled plane.
The pilots were listed in stable condition Wednesday afternoon and the collision remained under investigation, said the San Diego Union-Tribune. One pilot safely ejected while the other made an emergency landing at the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego.
The ejected pilot was found by a search and rescue team from the USS Carl Vinson, said a Facebook post by the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The two F/A-18s belong to the Third Marine Aircraft Wing based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, said Fox News.
The Union-Tribune cited three other accidents involving F-18 fighters since May. One included an F-18C Hornet that crashed at the end of a training flight at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California on Oct. 25. The pilot safely ejected.
Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss died after his Blue Angels F/A-18C jet crashed near Smyrna, Tennessee on June 2. Two F/A-18F Super Hornets collided off the Atlantic Coast near Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia on May 26. The four aviators survived.
The F/A-18 is a twin-engine aircraft built for use in fighter or attack missions, or a combination of both, according to the Marine website. The all-weather, day or night Marine jets are also used as fighter escort, enemy air defense suppression, reconnaissance, air control, and close air support.
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