MORRO BAY, CA — A military training jet plunged into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday evening about six miles northwest of Morro Bay after the pilot reported a loss of engine thrust and ejected from the aircraft. The civilian pilot was later rescued by a U.S. Navy search-and-rescue crew and taken to a hospital in Fresno.
The single-seat Mk.58 Hawker Hunter was operating on a training flight when the emergency unfolded. According to Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., which operates the aircraft, the pilot is safe and was expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday.
Pilot sends Mayday call before ejecting over the Pacific
Audio from live air traffic recordings captured the pilot repeating “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” and saying, “I have lost thrust in my engine.” An air traffic controller tried to guide the pilot toward the nearest airport, Paso Robles, roughly 60 miles away.
John Rupp, Airborne Tactical Advantage Co.’s director of global military sales, said the trouble began around 6:40 p.m. The pilot managed to eject before the jet hit the water. Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, a Naval Air Forces public affairs specialist, said the rescue happened about 7:30 p.m.
Navy helicopter pulls the pilot from the water
Umayam said the search-and-rescue crew that reached the pilot was based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The Navy helicopter picked up the civilian pilot from the ocean and transported him to Fresno for medical treatment.
Rupp said Wednesday that the company believed the pilot was doing well after the rescue. Coast Guard crews also searched the area for wreckage after the crash, but did not find any pieces of the aircraft before darkness forced them to return to base.
Cold War-era Hawker Hunter serves as training aircraft
The aircraft involved was a British-designed Hawker Hunter, a Cold War-era fighter jet equipped with a Martin-Baker ejection seat. That system is designed to help a pilot escape quickly in an emergency.
ATAC says on its website that it uses the Hawker Hunter in air-to-air, air-to-surface and fleet training roles. Rupp said the company flies under contracts supporting the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, and that it routinely operates with those services on the West Coast. He declined to describe the specific mission because of security concerns.
FlightRadar24 shows exercise area off Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties
FlightRadar24 identified the aircraft by the call sign SNAKE4 and showed it conducting exercises off the coasts of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. The plane was part of a broader training environment used by U.S. military aviation units.
Rupp said the company gets flight clearance from the Navy and performs turnaround inspections after every flight. He said ATAC’s fleet goes through a scheduled inspection regimen and that the company does not believe there are overarching technical deficiencies in the aircraft.
Previous Hawker Hunter accidents have raised engine-power questions
The Morro Bay incident was not the first time an ATAC-operated Hawker Hunter suffered an engine-power problem off California. Last October, another Hawker Hunter went down near Big Sur during adversary and tactical training for U.S. military aircrews. The pilot ejected, and a National Transportation Safety Board report said the cause of the loss of power could not be determined.
ATAC has also had a Hawker Hunter crash in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina in 2022 after a partial loss of engine power. In that case, the NTSB said the pilot ejected and was seriously injured, and an examination later found a failed bearing in the high-pressure fuel pump.
Coast Guard warns mariners to watch for fuel or debris
Coast Guard Southwest District spokesperson Kenneth Weise said crews were concerned about possible pollution or hazards because the jet likely carried between 400 and 1,000 gallons of fuel. He said any debris or pollution should be reported to U.S. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.
Weise said crews searched the area but found no wreckage before dark. The Coast Guard has not reported any debris recovery, and officials said mariners should navigate the area carefully while the assessment continues.
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