- A Navy pilot had to be rescued in Florida waters after escaping from an F-5 aircraft.
- Navy officials said Wednesday that the pilot was a member of Combined Fighter Squadron VFC-111.
- Local media captured footage of a suspected pilot exiting a rescue helicopter.
A U.S. Navy pilot ejected from a plane over Florida waters during a training exercise this week and required rescue.
A Navy official confirmed the pilot stationed at Naval Air Station Key West was rescued Wednesday morning off the coast of Key West.
Military officials said in a statement Wednesday that the pilot was a member of VFC-111, an elite combat squadron complex also known as the “Sundowners.”
— NAS Key West (@NASKeyWest) May 31, 2023
The aircraft, an F-5N plane, originally took off from Naval Air Station Key West. Authorities said the pilot escaped about 40 kilometers from Boca Chica Field around 9:20 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
The Navy had to use an MH-60S search and rescue helicopter to rescue the pilot from the water, the agency said.
Local Media Station WPLG A video was captured of the pilot disembarking from the helicopter and making his way to a local hospital’s heliport after being taken to a medical site after the accident.
Navy officials said they would investigate the cause of the incident.
The region has seen at least two plane crashes in recent years, according to the WPLG.
The Coast Guard also had to rescue a pilot who escaped from an F-5N aircraft in 2018, when it reported that a fighter jet crashed near a naval base, killing two Navy aviators during a training exercise.