* Very sad
Pilots Rescued After Fighter Jets Crash
By MELISSA NELSON – 1 hour ago
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Two fighter jets likely collided and crashed during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, but the pilots ejected and were rescued, the Air Force said.
The pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said.
The planes crashed during a training exercise "emphasizing basic maneuvers and tactics," said Col. Todd Harmer, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, 58th Fighter Squadron.
The cause of the collision was not immediately known, but the Air Force will investigate, Harmer said. Weather in the area was clear.
Both pilots had been with the wing "for quite some time," Harmer said.
A Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel.
That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject but lost him in the clouds, Harless said. He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter, Harless said.
Harmer said he had no information on the condition of the pilots, who were being taken to Eglin base hospital.
No debris from the jets has been found, Harless said.
The Air Force grounded all of its F-15s — nearly 700 — after the catastrophic failure of an F-15C during a routine training flight in Missouri in November. The pilot safely ejected.
Most were back in service by January, but others were grounded indefinitely after defects were found.
The Air Force began using the F-15C in 1979. The planes, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm and have since been used in Iraq, Turkey and Bosnia.
The planes can fly as high as 65,000 feet, and each costs about $30 million, according to the Air Force.
Link
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h5LKyjmNAXQBwbfPh7S_KuwX3F3QD8UUDQHG0
Airman dies in collision during training
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - An Air Force fighter pilot died Wednesday after his jet and another likely collided during a training exercise and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The other pilot was rescued and is expected to survive.
Link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/ap_on_re_us/missing_planes
Pilots Rescued After Fighter Jets Crash
By MELISSA NELSON – 1 hour ago
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Two fighter jets likely collided and crashed during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, but the pilots ejected and were rescued, the Air Force said.
The pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said.
The planes crashed during a training exercise "emphasizing basic maneuvers and tactics," said Col. Todd Harmer, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, 58th Fighter Squadron.
The cause of the collision was not immediately known, but the Air Force will investigate, Harmer said. Weather in the area was clear.
Both pilots had been with the wing "for quite some time," Harmer said.
A Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel.
That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject but lost him in the clouds, Harless said. He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter, Harless said.
Harmer said he had no information on the condition of the pilots, who were being taken to Eglin base hospital.
No debris from the jets has been found, Harless said.
The Air Force grounded all of its F-15s — nearly 700 — after the catastrophic failure of an F-15C during a routine training flight in Missouri in November. The pilot safely ejected.
Most were back in service by January, but others were grounded indefinitely after defects were found.
The Air Force began using the F-15C in 1979. The planes, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm and have since been used in Iraq, Turkey and Bosnia.
The planes can fly as high as 65,000 feet, and each costs about $30 million, according to the Air Force.
Link
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h5LKyjmNAXQBwbfPh7S_KuwX3F3QD8UUDQHG0
Airman dies in collision during training
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - An Air Force fighter pilot died Wednesday after his jet and another likely collided during a training exercise and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The other pilot was rescued and is expected to survive.
Link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/ap_on_re_us/missing_planes
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