Pilot Dies After 2 Air Force Jets Collide

(CBS/AP)  The Air Force says one of the two pilots whose fighter jets crashed into the Gulf of Mexico has died. The other pilot is in good condition.

The Air Force says the two single-seat F-15C Eagles likely collided and crashed during a training exercise Wednesday off the Florida Panhandle.

The pilots were able to eject and were later rescued.

Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said a Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel.

That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject, but lost him in the clouds, Harless said. He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter, Harless said.

Harless added that no debris from the jets has been found yet.

Coast guard officials in New Orleans told CBS News affiliate WWL-TV that they responded to a distress call 40 miles off the coast from Tyndall Air Force Base.

The Air Force grounded all of its F-15s - nearly 700 - after the catastrophic failure of an F-15C during a routine training flight in Missouri in November. The pilot safely ejected.

Most were back in service by January, but others were grounded indefinitely after defects were found.

The Air Force began using the F-15C in 1979. The planes, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm and have since been used in Iraq, Turkey and Bosnia.

The planes can fly up to 65,000 feet and each costs about $30 million, according to the Air Force.

[danceswithfa]

Two less airplanes and one less pilot to conduct Bush''s mass murders.

Too bad the people in the military are too spineless to stand up for what is good and right in the world, unfortunately they just follow immoral orders like "good Germans".

[bhappy2-2]

There has only been two fighters in the US inventory, and they were both designated F-4.

Regards,

Posted by Nancy_Naive

You really are naive, aren''t you. There are several fighters in our inventory. Aircraft can usually be defined by their designation:
A is ATTACK
B is BOMBER
C is CARGO
D, E and T are Trainers
F is FIGHTER
H is HELICOPTER
X is EXPERIMENTAL
Thus, an AH1J (COBRA) would be an ATTACK HELICOPTER, JET powered.

Just a brief lesson; I know I haven''t covered them all.

My condolences and heartfelt appreciation to the families of these brave men and women who choose to serve in our defense.

[therangedog]

It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

Like all pilots, he worked hard and earned his wings. It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but I learned that he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for the families.

[therangedog]

Like other pilots, he worked hard and earned his wings. It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot, but he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for her and her daughter and for the comfort of the pilot''s family.

[therangedog]

The pilot is a person. He chose to serve America. Like other pilots, he worked hard and earned his wings. It''s our military men and women''s dedication and our freedoms. The pilot is gone and nothing will bring him back. The investigation will reveal some lessons learned to avoid other training accidents. I don''t know the pilot personally, but he is the son-in-law of our school''s speech therapist. I can pray for her and her daughter and for the comfort of the pilot''s family.