NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, Va. (WAVY) – A naval aviator is recovering following an ejection from an F/A-18E Super Hornet on Wednesday morning near the Virginia coast.
LT Jackie Parashar, a public affairs officer with the Naval Air Force Atlantic, told Nexstar’s WAVY that the incident occurred just before 10 a.m.
The pilot, assigned to the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, was on a regular training flight when it happened, the Navy stated. The squadron is stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. The pilot ejected, and the aircraft crashed into the water. The Navy has not yet disclosed the cause of the crash.
Search and rescue teams arrived on the scene and found the pilot at 11:21 a.m.
Dale Gauding, a representative from Sentara, stated that the Coast Guard transported a Navy pilot to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Wednesday.
The F/A-18E was still in the water at the time of publication.
The Navy stated that the reason for the incident is being looked into.
This is the most recent incident in a sequence of crashes involving Navy fighter jets based in Hampton Roads. In May, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was lost in the Red Sea after it passed over the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier during a landing attempt, and then crashed into the water. Both pilots managed to eject. A week prior, another fighter jet, an F/A-18E, also fell into the Red Sea from the Truman while crew members were pulling the aircraft.
In December, an F/A-18 Super Hornet belonging to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 based at Naval Air Station Ocean, was downed in what appears to be a "friendly fire" incident. The aircraft also launched from the Truman.
According to Naval Air Systems Command, the F/A-18E Super Hornet is approximately $67 million.
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