FA-18 Fighter Jet Crashes Off Coast; Rescuers Search for Pilot
A Navy FA-18 fighter jet crashed off the coast Saturday night during a routine training flight, authorities said.
A search for the pilot, whose name was not released, began immediately.
The single-seat fighter, known as a Hornet, crashed shortly before 7:45 p.m. somewhere off the coast, said Lt. Cmdr. John Brindley, a Navy spokesman at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore. He said he did not know the location of the crash site.
The jet was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 22, based at Lemoore. It was on a training flight from the carrier Abraham Lincoln with the Carrier Air Wing 11 as part of a Pacific Fleet exercise in preparation for an upcoming six-month deployment, Brindley said.
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