Military jet crashes near Naval Air Station Key West

BOCA CHITA KEY, FL (WPLG) — A Navy jet has crashed near Naval Air Station Key West off the coast the Florida Keys, the US Navy said.

Florida Keys marina owner Barbie Wilson told Local 10 News that the F/A-18 Hornet caught fire in the air and then crashed about one miles from the runway around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Cmdr. Dave Hecht, a spokesman for Naval Air Station Key West, said the pilot and another person on board were able parachute to safety. Hecht said he could not comment on whether the people were hurt in crash.

Photos from the scene show a rescue helicopter hovering over the jet as it sits overturned in the water. Wilson said divers are in the water, helping with the rescue effort.

These jets have been flying all day. I live in the neighborhood and so one was flying over. Then it went a little sideways, then I saw fire, and then it just literally dropped out of the sky,” Wilson said. “It was like something out of a movie.”