Navy: Fighter jet crashes in waters off Va.; pilot rescued after ejecting, deploying life raft

1/15/2014

NORFOLK, Va. — A Navy official says a fighter jet pilot is in critical condition after ejecting from his plane into the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia.

Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces Atlantic, says the F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed this afternoon about 45 miles off Virginia Beach.

Kafka says a fisherman recovered the pilot, after he ejected and deployed a life raft. He was then picked up by a Navy helicopter and flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Kafka says the pilot was conscious en route to the hospital.

The crash comes a week after a Navy helicopter plunged into waters in the region, leaving three dead.