One Pilot Missing After Two U.S. Fighter Jets Collide Over Pacific Ocean

One pilot is missing, after two F/A-18 Hornets collided over the Pacific Ocean. One pilot was found and returned to the USS Carl Vinson. There is currently a search mission taking place to locate the missing pilot. Both jets were assigned to the Carl Vinson, on its way to the Persian Gulf to relieve the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The incident is under investigation.

Two American fighter jets collided over the Pacific Ocean and crashed Friday, and one pilot was still missing, the Navy said. The jets, both F/A-18 Hornets, had not been recovered. One pilot was found and returned to the USS Carl Vinson, the Navy said. A cruiser, a destroyer and helicopters were searching the western Pacific for the second pilot.

ABC News: 2 Navy Fighter Jets Crash in Western Pacific.

The two carriers from the carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) crashed at 5:40 p.m. local time, according to the Navy’s Seventh Fleet. The carrier is operating in an area off Guam.

“One pilot was rapidly located and returned to Carl Vinson, and is currently receiving medical attention,” it said in a statement. “Search efforts continue for the second pilot.”

The F/A-18 fighter has a single-seater version, as well as a double-seater variant. The aircraft involved in this incident were single-seater F/A-18Cs.

UPDATE I: Navy Ends Search for Missing Pilot in Western Pacific.

The Navy has ended an extensive search for a missing fighter pilot aboard one of two F/A-18C jets that apparently collided Friday over the western Pacific. The missing pilot is presumed to be deceased.

The Navy’s Seventh Fleet issued a statement saying it had ended its search and rescue efforts for the missing pilot 36 hours after the planes had crashed into the ocean 250 nautical miles off the coast of Wake Island.