Navy F/A-18 jet crashes off Key West, official says

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida, on Wednesday, an official told Fox News.

One pilot and one weapons systems officer were ejected from the twin-engine jet, and search and rescue efforts are under way.

A marina owner in the Florida Keys told WPLG that the Hornet jet caught fire mid-air, then crashed roughly one mile from the runway of Naval Air Station Key West.

Officials said the crew is based out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

President Trump during a roundtable at Boeing on Wednesday called the F/A-18 a work of "art," and said that he's working with Congress to fund 24 new jets.

The jet was from the VFA-213 Blacklions squadron. Last year, the same squadron deployed aboard USS George H.W. Bush to conduct ISIS strikes in Iraq and Syria. 

Full Story on FOXNews.com


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