Two Marines Survive Jet Crash Off California Coast

Photo by Dave_S. via Flickr.

Marines are tough, tough enough to survive a jet crash in the Pacific Ocean.

An F-18 fighter jet went missing around 10:30pm on Wednesday night approximately 70 miles south of San Diego and 40 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, reports myFOXla. The jet was flying on a mission from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar with another aircraft when the pilots lost contact.

Five search crafts - two Coast Guard cutters, one C-130 airplane, one 110-foot patrol boat pus one navy helicopter - searched for the men late on Wednesday. The cutter heard the sounds of Marines yelling and emergency whistles blowing early Thursday morning, directing a navy helicopter to their location.

Both marines and the debris were recovered. The men were flown to the Balboa Naval Center hospital.

An investigation to determine the cause of the crash is underway.

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By Lauren Lloyd in News on August 11, 2011 8:40 AM

Comments [rss]

The Ugly American

They won't be walking upright for awhile and may end up 1/2-1 inch shorter.

The force from the ejection seat on the spine is pretty violent to say the least.

PicoPhreako69

Whilst I AM happy that both pilots survived and will probably be okay,....
"40 miles west of Ensenada"? Hmmm.... gee. That's in Mexican airspace, no? Curious, I am.

Doran

According to the Wikipedia machine, international airspace begins at about 12 miles off the coast.

PicoPhreako69

Hunh! Good to know...
Somehow I thought just about every country had adopted a 200-mile limit.

Laura Lutrell

Some countries share coasts that are much closer than 200 miles, some of those countries have historically had disagreements that would make 200 miles of shared air space a *bad idea* ;)