Two crew members ejected from a US Navy jet before it crashed into San Diego Bay on Wednesday and were quickly rescued by a sportfishing boat, authorities said. The two occupants of the E/A-18G Growler were first picked up by the Premiere Sportfishing vessel then transferred to a nearby Customs and Border Protection vessel, said Petty Officer Christopher Sappey, a Coast Guard spokesperson. On a live webcam of San Diego harbor traffic, someone aboard the Premiere can be heard telling the Coast Guard that the crew members ejected right after takeoff, the AP reports.
"We're on our way to help assist," the man called in about 10:14 a.m. "They're in the water." Shortly afterward, someone from the boat added, "We have both pilots on board and safe." Photos posted by the fishing company on its website appear to show two people dropping into the water with parachutes. The two men were taken to an area hospital, where they were in stable condition, authorities said. The Coast Guard has two vessels now safeguarding the Growler wreckage in the San Diego Harbor, Sappey said. Navy officials say the plane crashed during an attempt to land at Naval Station North Island.
An orange boom line has been set up around the crash site, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. "After the pilots were taken to the hospital, we basically set up a maritime perimeter along with Navy just to protect that debris field, because now there's going to be a long recovery process of getting all the components of that airplane out of the water," said Harbor Police Lt. Daniel Moen. (More Navy stories.)
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