Military Aircraft Crashes Into San Diego Bay

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two military pilots were rescued after a fighter jet crashed into San Diego Bay near Shelter Island, authorities said.

Rescue crews responded to reports of a military plane crash shortly after 10:15 a.m. Wednesday at 1561 Shelter Island Drive, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

U.S. Navy officials confirmed that two air crew members were aboard the EA-18G Growler that went into the water off Shelter Island. The service members ejected from the aircraft before it went down.

The pilots were rescued by a fishing boat, 10News reported.

Both pilots were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, according to the fire department. They were in stable condition.

The aircraft was from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington. The fighter jet was in San Diego for an exercise, USNI News reported.

The EA-18G Growler is a variant in the F/A-18 family of aircraft that combined the Super Hornet platform with a sophisticated electronic warfare suite, according to officials at Naval Air Station North Island.

The cause of the crash was under investigation, Navy officials said.

NAS North Island is located at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay. Naval Base Coronado established an emergency operations center in response to the mishap and was assessing the crash site.

The bay was very foggy Wednesday morning as crews searched for the wreckage. Witnesses reported hearing extremely loud, building-shaking jet engines and then an instant, eerie silence.