Jet pilots evade watery grave

A pair of American fighter pilots have escaped a trip to Davy Jones’ Locker after their Growler jet dived into San Diego Bay

The plane, a E/A-18G Growler Electronic Warfare aircraft, dived into San Diego Bay not far from the naval base it was coming into land at around 10.15am local time on Wednesday.

A shocking clip shows the jet dive into the water nose first at high speed sending a large plume of water and “muck” into the sky.

Both pilots were luckily not injured and were quickly rescued by a fishing boat, the Coast Guard confirmed.

The jet was reportedly coming into land at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Bay, according to the navy.

Navy spokesperson Commander Beth Teach said the crash occurred during what is known as a “go-around manoeuvre,” in which the aircraft landed and was taking off again.

The captain of the fishing boat, Brandon Viets, said he had taken guests on a fishing trip when he heard a jet take off near the naval base, AP reported.

Viets said the plane “seemed a little louder than normal” and by the time he turned around to look, he could see two parachutes in the air.

An American Growler Jet torpedoes itself towards the water Picture: Twitter

The Growler was flying “super low” and remained in the air for a couple of minutes before it dived into the water, he said.

The 30-year-old said: “I watched them touch water, and I told my crew, ‘We got to go.’”

“We spin the boat around and raced over there.”

Just as Viets arrived at the floating pilots, the jet slammed into the water.

Viets said the plume of “water and mud and muck” was 70 to 80 feet tall.

The two pilots were taken to hospital in a stable condition with the navy now working to remove the plane from the water.

An investigation has been launched into the crash – which happened when San Diego Bay was rainy and misty.

The plane has a price tag of $86 million, according to the navy.

The multimillion-dollar fighter-jet plunges into San Diego Bay. Picture: Twitter

In October, another navy Growler crashed in Washington State’s mountains killing the two pilots.

Naval aviator Lieutenant Serena Wileman, 31, and naval flight officer Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay Evans, 31, had been conducting a routine training flight, the navy said.

Evans had co-ordinated and carried out strikes against the Houthis after they blocked the Red Sea following Hamas’ October 7 terror attack against Israel.

Wednesday’s Growler crash comes after an Army Black Hawk was involved in a crash with a plane in Washington DC on January 29.

The chopper was hit by a plane that was coming into land at Reagan National killing all 64 on board the flight and the three on the helicopter.

The Black Hawk had its automatic dependent surveillance broadcast turned off during the horrific midair collision, Senator Ted Cruz has said. He said it’s unclear why the helicopter turned off the key tech system, which helps aircraft determine its position.