News...
                        sponsored by
 

U.S. Air Force recovers pilot's body after crash in Gulf of Mexico

Send a link to a friend  Share

[November 07, 2014]  MIAMI (Reuters) - The United State Air Force said it had recovered the body of an F-16 fighter jet pilot who was killed when his aircraft crashed in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday during a routine training mission.

The aircraft, based out of Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, was reported lost about 57 miles (92 km) south of Panama City, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The name of the pilot was being withheld to allow for notification of his relatives.

"Efforts will now shift from that of a rescue mission to a recovery operation as evidence is collected to help in determining the cause of the crash," the Air Force said in a statement from the base at Tyndall.

(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson in Miami and Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; Writing by David Adams; Editing by David Gregorio and Ken Wills)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Top Stories index

Back to top