- A United States naval jet crashed in the ocean near Key West on Wednesday
- Witnesses say the Navy F-18 fighter jet had a minor explosion and caught fire
- The pilot and another person on board were able to parachute to safety
A United States Navy jet crashed in the water in the Florida Keys late on Wednesday afternoon.
The Navy F-18 Hornet fighter jet apparently caught fire and plummeted into the ocean near Key West at around 4.30pm, Florida Keys News reported.
The pilot and another person on board were able to parachute to safety, Commander Dave Hecht, a spokesperson for the Key West Naval Air Station told ABC 10.
The Navy F-18 Hornet fighter jet apparently caught fire and plummeted into the ocean near Key West at around 4.30pm, Florida Keys News reported. Pictured is the Key West naval base
He could not comment on if anyone was injured in the crash.
It’s not clear if there were one or two crew members aboard the jet.
Witnesses said it looked like the plane had some sort of explosion in the air before crashing into the water.
‘I saw the fire and then it just dropped,’ Barbie Wilson told the paper.
She lives nearby and was driving when she said she saw the plane turn sideways before going up in flames.
‘It was like something out of a movie,’ she emphasized.
Photos from the scene show a rescue helicopter hovering over the water as the jet lies upside down.
Wilson told the news outlet that divers were sent into the water to help with the rescue effort, but did not make clear if there were any people still trapped inside the plane.