U.S. Navy pilot safe after jet ends up in water off San Diego runway

[May 23, 2015]  By Marty Graham
 
 SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy training jet went off the end of a runway and crashed into water at a base in San Diego on Friday, but the pilot was able to eject safely from the aircraft and was rescued by local boaters, officials said.

The jet remained half-submerged near the Naval Air Station North Island, and the pilot was taken to the hospital for evaluation, said U.S. Navy spokeswoman Lieutenant Reagan Lauritzen.

"The pilot was released and is ambulatory and in good condition," Lauritzen told Reuters.

The gender and identity of the pilot have not been released. Lauritzen said only one person had been onboard the jet at the time.

She said the pilot was flying a T-45C aircraft stationed in Meridian, Missouri, and had been practicing routine aircraft carrier deck landings for upcoming qualifications.

The T-45C, also known as the Goshawk, is a two-seater built by the Boeing Corp and has been in use as a training jet by Navy and Marine Corps pilots since 1991, according to the Navy's website.

The training jets are propelled by a Rolls Royce engine and cost about $17.2 million each.

A witness told NBC he heard a big bang and then saw a parachute come down from the sky and land in the bay.

Lauritzen said the Navy is using a crane to lift the aircraft out of the water.

(Reporting by Marty Graham; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler)

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