A Navy pilot was rescued by a helicopter off the coast of Key West, Florida, after being forced to eject from an F-5N training jet.
The jet crashed into the ocean about 25 miles from the Florida coast Wednesday morning while the pilot was found and saved by an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and taken “to a Miami-area hospital for further evaluation,” the Navy confirmed to Fox News Digital
The pilot, who has yet to be identified by the service, was assigned to Fighter Squadron Composite 111, or the “Sun Downers,” according to a report from Military.com, and was based out of Naval Station Key West.
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A Boeing EA-18G Growler jet fighter with the VAQ-141 Shadowhawks flies low over Chuo Rinkan in Kanagawa, Japan. (Damon Coulter/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The aircraft was the Navy’s F-5N “Adversary Aircraft,” which is used to simulate enemy fighters during training.
According to the report, most of the pilots in the Sun Downers squadron are former F/A-18 Hornet pilots and most are graduates of the Navy’s famed Top Gun flight school. The squadron is also a mix of active duty and reservist pilots.
The Navy’s F-5Ns are all “low-hour” and were purchased from the Swiss Air Force between 2006 and 2020, according to the service.
Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and an EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft on board USS Ronald Reagan. (Photo by CATHERINE LAI/AFP via Getty Images)
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The crash would mark the fifth “Class A” aviation accident so far this year, which is an accident that results in over $2.5 million in damage or death or serious disability as a result of the accident.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from one of four steam powered catapults on the flight deck aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. (Photo by Tyler J. Clements/U.S. Navy/Getty Images)
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson with Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West PA confirmed the crash and said it is policy for the branch not to identify pilots involved in an accident.
“The pilot was evaluated by medical personnel and was released from a local hospital,” the spokesperson said. “The safety and well-being of our pilot remains our top priority. The cause of the incident will be investigated.”
