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Two F-15s collide in midair near Florida coast
1 hour, 22 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter planes collided in midair on Wednesday over the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida, during a training mission, officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard recovered one pilot and a second was reported missing after the one-seat F-15C Eagles crashed at 4:21 p.m. EST (2121 GMT) about 50 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base.

The recovered pilot's condition was not immediately known.

The planes were from the Air Force's 33rd Fighter Wing based at Eglin Air Force Base, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080220/...pxmw6r.Yus0NUE

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Jolie Rouge

Pilots rescued after fighter jets crash
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Two fighter jets crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a training mission Wednesday, but the pilots ejected and were later rescued, the Air Force said.

Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said the pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base.

The Air Force has not determined if the planes collided. Weather in the area was clear.

Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said a Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel.

That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject, but lost him in the clouds, Harless said. He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter, Harless said.

The conditions of the pilots were not immediately available, he said. They were being taken to Eglin base hospital.

Harless added that no debris from the jets has been found yet.

The Air Force grounded all of its F-15s — nearly 700 — after the catastrophic failure of an F-15C during a routine training flight in Missouri in November. The pilot safely ejected.

Most were back in service by January, but others were grounded indefinitely after defects were found.

The Air Force began using the F-15C in 1979. The planes, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm and have since been used in Iraq, Turkey and Bosnia.

The planes can fly up to 65,000 feet and each costs about $30 million, according to the Air Force.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/...ZSrTOnDCys0NUE

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

Jolie Rouge

Airman dies in collision during training
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - An Air Force fighter pilot died Wednesday after his jet and another likely collided during a training exercise and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The other pilot was rescued and is expected to survive.

The single-seat F-15C Eagles crashed Wednesday off the Florida Panhandle, said Col. Todd Harmer, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, 58th Fighter Squadron. The pilots had ejected and were later rescued.

The base has suffered a "great loss," Harmer said in an e-mailed statement. He said, "We will continue to do everything we can to assist our families and airmen at this tragic time."

The cause of the collision about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base was not immediately known, but the Air Force will investigate, Harmer said. Weather in the area was clear.

The exercise emphasized "basic maneuvers and tactics," Harmer said.

A Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel.

That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject but lost him in the clouds, Harless said. He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter, Harless said.

Both pilots had been with the wing "for quite some time," Harmer said.

No debris from the jets has been found, Harless said.

The Air Force grounded all of its F-15s — nearly 700 — after the catastrophic failure of an F-15C during a routine training flight in Missouri in November. The pilot safely ejected.

Most were back in service by January, but others were grounded indefinitely after defects were found.

The Air Force began using the F-15C in 1979. The planes, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm and have since been used in Iraq, Turkey and Bosnia.

The planes can fly as high as 65,000 feet, and each costs about $30 million, according to the Air Force.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/...leNuyQNE2s0NUE

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?