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The United States military has some of the world’s best technology at its disposal, but there are still plenty of ways for things to go awry. That was the case during a training mission in San Diego where two pilots who were forced to eject from a fighter jet thankfully emerged largely unscathed, but the same can’t be said about the $67 million aircraft that was filmed plunging into San Diego Bay.
America’s armed forces are subjected to rigorous training to ensure they’ll be able to rise to the occasion if they’re ever called upon, and that’s especially true when it comes to the pilots who are tasked with manning the hundreds of fighter jets the Air Force, Navy, and Marines have at their disposal.
That second branch operates a sizeable base located on San Diego Bay, and people who live in the area have become accustomed to seeing various aircraft whizzing through the skies above the city as part of fairly typical day-to-day operations.
According to NBC San Diego, the Navy conducted a Bamboo Eagle integrated training exercise from the air station situation on North Island on Wednesday, which involved two pilots from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135 who were operating an EA-18G Growler that was part of the drill.
However, things took a wild turn around 10:15 A.M. when they were forced to eject from the fighter jet that was subsequently captured nosediving into the water in the vicinity of Shelter Island (another camera documented what transpired from a distance).
WATCH: New video shows U.S. Navy fighter jet crashing into the San Diego Bay earlier today pic.twitter.com/Ui9kZc104z
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) February 13, 2025
A fishing charter boat that watched the scene unfolded quickly made its way to the spot where the pilots landed after parachuting down to the water before they were transferred to the shore and taken to the hospital for a 24-hour medical observation “out of an abundance of caution” after being listed in “good condition.”
The Navy was not able to immediately determine the cause of the incident and quickly contained the crash site while advising the public to report any debris they might encounter to local authorities.