Petty Officer 1st Class Roderick Ansley, (center-right) of Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, walks with two Navy pilots Thursday, May 26, 2016, after an in-air mishap between two Navy aircraft. The rescued pilots were recovered and taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard and a Good Samaritan yacht crew rescued four survivors on Thursday following an in-air mishap involving two Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets 25 miles east of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.
Fifth Coast Guard District Command Center watchstanders were notified at approximately 10:30 a.m. that two Navy jets suffered an in-air mishap and four people were in the water. The crew of the 48-foot yacht Pammy rescued two of the survivors, and a Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, hoisted the other two survivors from the water.
A 47-foot motor life boat (MLB) crew from Station Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, took aboard the two survivors rescued by the Pammy crew. A second helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City then hoisted the two survivors from the MLB. All four survivors were taken to Norfolk Sentara General Hospital.
The jets were from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 at Naval Air Station Oceana.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
