A military fighter jet crashed into San Diego Bay Wednesday morning, as seen on dramatic video obtained by local media.
The crash was reported around 10:15 a.m. local time, near Shelter Island, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. About 30 minutes later, military officials confirmed that two pilots were onboard the jet and managed to be safely ejected.
The pilots were quickly rescued by a nearby fishing boat before being taken to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection boat, the Coast Guard said.
In a statement Wednesday night, the Navy said the pilots had been transferred to a hospital for “24-hour medical observation out of an abundance of caution,” but were said to be in good condition.
Neither pilot had been publicly identified as of Thursday afternoon. They’d traveled from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State and were in San Diego for an exercise.
The aircraft was a Boeing EA-18 G Growler, according to a Navy spokesperson. The two-person jet is equipped for electronic warfare and used to disrupt enemy radar and radio systems.
The plane, which was close to making a landing at Naval Air Station North Island, narrowly missed a residential neighborhood as it plunged into the bay, NBC San Diego reported. There were no reports of any civilian injuries or property damage.
Harbor Security boats had been assigned to secure the area, and “a containment boom was placed around the crash site to minimize the spread of fuel and debris,” officials said.
Environmental and safety teams were also called to the area to help mitigate any potential impacts.
While the cause of the crash remains under investigation, footage shared on social media shows poor visibility in the area.
A spell of rainy and windy weather rolled into the San Diego area Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.