[NYTr] 2 F-18s Collide over Persian Gulf; Crew Ejects Safely

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Bloomberg News - Jan 7, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aO1fikQNKRuA&refer=home

U.S. Fighter Jets Collide Today in Persian Gulf, CNN Reports

By Chris Dolmetsch

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets collided in flight
today while performing routine night operations off the aircraft
carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf, CNN reported, citing
the Pentagon.

The three pilots of the planes, a one-seater and a two- seater, were
able to eject before the aircraft went down and were recovered safely,
CNN said. There's no indication that hostile fire was involved or that
the incident was related to an earlier confrontation between U.S. and
Iranian ships, the network said.

                            ***

Navy Times - Jan 7, 2008
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_hornets_crash_080107w/


2 Hornets crash in Persian Gulf, crews safe

Staff report

Two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the carrier Harry S. Truman
collided in midair over the northern Persian Gulf on Monday afternoon.
Rescue teams saved the three aviators involved in the crash and safely
returned all three to the ship.

The two planes — a single-pilot F/A-18E and a two-seat F/A-18F from the
Truman’s embarked Carrier Air Wing 3 — were flying over the Gulf en
route to a close air support mission in Iraq when the two Super Hornets
crashed into each other, according to an official Navy statement.

The Super Hornets’ mission to Iraq makes it unlikely their collision
was related to an incident Monday at the south end of the Persian Gulf
when five Iranian attack boats harassed three U.S. warships emerging
from the Strait of Hormuz, said 5th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Kevin
Cosgriff, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via a satellite video
link.

The naval aviators returned to the Truman by helicopter for medical
treatment and are reportedly in “good condition,” Cosgriff said.