Navy Aggressor Pilot Rescued From Ocean

A Navy MH-60S Knight Hawk successfully rescued the pilot of an F-5N Tiger II about 25 miles off the coast of Key West Naval Air Station on Wednesday morning. The…

A Navy MH-60S Knight Hawk successfully rescued the pilot of an F-5N Tiger II about 25 miles off the coast of Key West Naval Air Station on Wednesday morning. The pilot ejected from the Cold War-era fighter about 9:20 a.m. The helicopter was dispatched and located the pilot, who was taken to a hospital in Miami for evaluation. It's not clear if the pilot was injured.

"The safety and well-being of our pilot remains our top priority. The cause of the incident will be investigated. More details will be released as they become available,” the Navy said in a statement. The airplane belonged to the "Sun Downers," the Navy Reserve's fleet adversary program that flies in opposition to Navy, Marines, Air Force, Reserve and Guard pilots.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.