US pilot ejects from jet near carrier headed for Korean peninsula
ELIZABETH MCLAUGHLIN
Friday, April 21, 2017 10:47AMA pilot from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier safely ejected from a fighter jet, according to a statement from the Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
The pilot was quickly recovered by a helicopter and is being assessed by the medical team on board the carrier. There are no injuries at this time, the statement said.
The pilot ejected from his F/A-18E Super Hornet as it was on its final approach to land on the USS Carl Vinson. The Navy said the plane had been conducting "routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea." The body of water is north of Indonesia and south of the Philippines.
The statement did not detail what caused the pilot to eject or when the ejection occurred.
The USS Carl Vinson recently gained international attention for its location, after President Trump recently said that the U.S. was sending an "armada" toward North Korea.
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Super Hornet from USS Carl Vinson Crashes Near the Philippines, Pilot Safe
By: Sam LaGrone
April 21, 2017 11:38 AM • Updated: April 21, 2017 3:27 PM
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the “Kestrels” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137 takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on April 10, 2017. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with additional information from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet on approach to land on aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) crashed on Friday near the Philippines, Navy officials told USNI News.
The pilot of the aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2, ditched the aircraft in the sea, safely ejected and was recovered by a helicopter flown from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 4 “Black Knights,” according to a brief release from U.S. 7th Fleet.
“The incident is currently under investigation,” read the statement.
“The pilot is being assessed by the medical team on board USS Carl Vinson and there are no apparent injuries at this time.”
The crash occurred at 6:55 P.M. local time (6:55 A.M. EDT).
The Vinson Strike Group is currently in the Celebes Sea and is in transit north for previously announced presence operations off the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier this week, strike group commander Rear Adm. Jim Kilby announced that strike group would extend their deployment by a month.
The strike group recently completed a bilateral training operation off of the coast Western Australia with the Royal Australian Navy.
The Vinson Strike Group deployment is being overseen by U.S. Third Fleet based in San Diego, Calif. as a test of the Navy’s ability to command and control forces in the Western Pacific, reported USNI News earlier this year.
The following is the complete April 21, 2017 statement from U.S. 7th Fleet.
USS Carl Vinson — A pilot safely ejected and was quickly recovered by a helicopter assigned to HSC-4 aboard USS Carl Vinson while conducting routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea.
The incident occurred as the F/A-18E assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 was on final approach to USS Carl Vinson. The incident is currently under investigation. The pilot is being assessed by the medical team on board USS Carl Vinson and there are no apparent injuries at this time.