Fishing Vessel Comes to Rescue After U.S. Fighter Jets Collide Off Cape Hatteras

A F/A-18F Super Hornet conducts an in-flight refueling with a F/A-18E Super Hornet over the Red Sea in 2010. FiU.S. Navy File Photo 

A good samaritan fishing vessel rescued four survivors from the Atlantic Ocean following a collision involving two U.S. Navy fighter jets 25 miles east of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy confirmed.

The Coast Guard says it was notified at 10:30 a.m. that two planes collided and four people were in the water. The crew of the commercial fishing vessel Jamie recovered all four survivors.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew was sent to the scene and hoisted the survivors and took them to Norfolk Sentara General hospital.

The Navy said that the two F/A-18F Super Hornets were flying off the coast of Cape Hatteras during a routine training mission when there was an in-flight mishap.

The Navy says it will conduct a safety investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

The F/A-18F is a two-seat fighter and attack aircraft. Both aircraft involved are assigned Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 based at Naval Air Station Oceana.

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