F-15 pilots rescued after collision
The Air Force says both pilots from the two missing fighter jets have been rescued in the Gulf of Mexico.
The pair of F-15C fighter jets went missing after colliding today during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico, according to Air Force officials.
Air Force search and rescue and U.S. Coast Guard crews were searching the Gulf for the pilots Wednesday afternoon.
The planes were part of the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle.
The crash happened at about 3 p.m. ET and about 50 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida.
The Pentagon said it was not immediately known how many crew members were missing -- although F-15Cs are single-seat jets.
In January a top Air Force general said a manufacturing defect blamed for causing a mid-air breakup of an F-15 Eagle fighter, which occurred in November, might lead the Air Force to permanently ground a quarter of those warplanes.
There is no information currently that points to a malfunctioning defect as the cause of Wednesday's incident.
Fonte: Associated Press