Navy jet crashes off coast of Florida, prompting water rescue mission

A Navy pilot was rescued by a helicopter off the coast of Key West, Florida, after being forced to eject from an F-5N training jet.

The jet crashed into the ocean about 25 miles from the Florida coast Wednesday morning while the pilot was found and saved by an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and taken “to a Miami-area hospital for further evaluation,” the Navy said, according to a report from Military.com.

The pilot, who has yet to be identified by the service, was assigned to Fighter Squadron Composite 111, or the “Sun Downers,” according to the report, and was based out of Naval Station Key West.

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The aircraft was the Navy’s F-5N “Adversary Aircraft,” which is used to simulate enemy fighters during training.

According to the report, most of the pilots in the Sun Downers squadron are former F/A-18 Hornet pilots and most are graduates of the Navy’s famed Top Gun flight school. The squadron is also a mix of active duty and reservist pilots, though it is unclear what status the pilot involved in the crash is on.

The Navy’s F-5Ns are all “low-hour” and were purchased from the Swiss Air Force between 2006 and 2020, according to the service. The cause of the incident is still being investigated.

The crash would mark the fifth “Class A” aviation accident so far this year, which is an accident that results in over $2.5 million in damage or death or serious disability as a result of the accident.

The Navy did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.