Navy pilot rescued after ejecting from jet off Virginia coast

NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, Va. (WAVY) – A Navy pilot is recovering after ejecting from an F/A-18E Super Hornet Wednesday morning off the coast of Virginia.

LT Jackie Parashar, a public affairs officer for Naval Air Force Atlantic, confirmed to Nexstar’s WAVY the mishap took place just before 10 a.m.

The pilot, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, was conducting a routine training flight at the time, the Navy said. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. The pilot ejected and the plane crashed into the water. The Navy has not indicated yet what led to the crash.

Search and rescue crews responded and located the pilot at 11:21 a.m.

Dale Gauding, a spokesperson for Sentara, confirmed the Coast Guard brought a Navy pilot to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Wednesday. 

The F/A-18E remained in the water as of publishing time.

The Navy said the cause of the mishap is under investigation.

This is the latest in a series of crashes involving Hampton Roads-based Navy fighter jets. In May, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was lost in the Red Sea after it went over the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier during an attempted landing, and crashed into the sea. Both pilots ejected. About a week earlier, another fighter jet, an F/A-18E, also fell from the Truman into the Red Sea while sailors were towing the aircraft.

In December, an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Ocean, was shot down during an apparent “friendly fire” incident. That jet also took off from the Truman.

According to Naval Air Systems Command, the F/A-18E Super Hornet costs around $67 million.