2 Marine fighter pilots rescued; SC crash probed

[March 11, 2010]  CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- The Marine Corps is trying to determine why a fighter jet suffered engine failures, crashing into the ocean off South Carolina and forcing the pilots to bail out.

Officials at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort say neither the pilot nor the weapons officer on the F/A-18D Hornet suffered serious injuries when they ejected late Wednesday afternoon about 35 miles offshore.

The Marines' names were not released. They were picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter about an hour after the plane went down and were checked by a doctor as a precaution.

A Marines spokesman says a Coast Guard cutter was patrolling the crash site late Wednesday to help locate and recover pieces of the plane.

The plane was on a training mission when the two engines on the $29 million jet failed.

[Associated Press]

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