Pilot Rescued After Training Jet Crashes Near Morro Bay

A contracted pilot ejected from an Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) Hawker Hunter after reporting a loss of engine thrust, and the U.S. Navy rescued him after the jet went down in the Pacific Ocean near Morro Bay on Tuesday evening. The aircraft was conducting a Navy training mission off California’s Central Coast. Its engine failure cause has not been determined, and the wreckage had not been recovered by Wednesday afternoon, according to ATAC and the Coast Guard. Air-traffic-control audio captured the pilot reporting that he had lost engine thrust and declaring an emergency. The controller tried to direct him toward Paso Robles, the nearest airport cited in the reports. Flight-tracking information placed the aircraft, identified by the call sign SNAKE4, about six miles northwest of Morro Bay when it disappeared from radar at approximately 6:49 p.m. The pilot ejected before the aircraft hit the water. Navy representatives said a search-and-rescue crew based at Naval Air Station Lemoore recovered him and took him for medical evaluation. ATAC later reported that he was in good condition and undergoing evaluation.