2 Navy Pilots Rescued After Jet Crashes

Two Navy pilots were rescued after their training jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean 70 miles southwest of San Diego, a Navy spokeswoman said.

Lt. Ken Wesselman and Lt. Tom Twomey were picked up by a Navy helicopter, after safely ejecting from their aircraft, and taken to the Navy hospital in Balboa Park, where they were treated for minor injuries, Chief Petty Officer Bobbie Carleton said.

Assigned to the adversary squadron based at Miramar Naval Air Station, the pilots were on a routine training mission Thursday evening with other aircraft when their TA-4 Navy Skyhawk went down, Carleton said.

“We (the Miramar base) just finished a fiscal year that statistically is the safest on record. The crash mishap level, statistically speaking over the last year, is way down,” Carleton said. The A-4 aircraft, last made by McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. in 1979, has been around for at least 30 years, Carleton said.

Nationally, 23 Navy aircraft crashed and were destroyed this year, down from 49 reported crashes for 1988, a Navy spokesman in Washington said. “The reason the number is better (this year) is due to an ever-increasing emphasis on safety in all areas, from training through every level. If you focus an individual’s attention on safety, the number of accidents goes down,” said Lt. Commander Craig Quigley.