3 unaccounted for after Navy fighter jet crashes into apartments

By the CNN Wire Staff
April 7, 2012 -- Updated 1005 GMT (1805 HKT)
"I work right across the street from the apartment complex," iReporter Chris Johnson said. "As soon as I saw the smoke, I ran out and took pictures before the police showed up." The jet hit the Mayfair Mews Apartment complex in Virginia Beach, according to U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell's office, whose district includes Virginia Beach."I work right across the street from the apartment complex," iReporter Chris Johnson said. "As soon as I saw the smoke, I ran out and took pictures before the police showed up." The jet hit the Mayfair Mews Apartment complex in Virginia Beach, according to U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell's office, whose district includes Virginia Beach.
Fire erupts at the apartments. Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Riley said five buildings were heavily damaged, and first responders are going to have to do a detailed search of those buildings for people.Fire erupts at the apartments. Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Riley said five buildings were heavily damaged, and first responders are going to have to do a detailed search of those buildings for people.
Navy jet crash in VirginiaNavy jet crash in Virginia
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Navy jet crashes into apartments
Navy jet crashes into apartments
Navy jet crashes into apartments
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Rescuers are trying to find three people still unaccounted for, an official says
  • The crash of the F/A-18 is under investigation, the Navy says
  • The jet's dumping of fuel was an indication of a problem, a Navy official says

CNN affiliates WTKR, WAVY and WVEC have more on the story.

(CNN) -- Rescue workers in Virginia were trying to locate three people still unaccounted for Saturday, a day after a Navy fighter jet crashed into apartment buildings in Virginia Beach, authorities said.

At least seven people were injured when the fighter jet experienced a "catastrophic mechanical malfunction" during takeoff Friday, raining jet fuel over the military community of Virginia Beach before its fiery crash that damaged five apartment buildings, according to residents and Navy officials.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities, though authorities were searching for the three people, Riley said.

The jet carried a student pilot in the front seat and an experienced instructor behind him, and the dumping of jet fuel was "one of the indications that there was a mechanical malfunction," Navy Capt. Mark Weisgerber told reporters.

The crash is under investigation, he said.

Jet crash pilot's seat found in tree

The two-seat F/A-18 jet landed eerily upright in flames in a courtyard surrounded by the five apartment buildings that were suddenly set afire.

Once the five apartment buildings were doused with water and the courtyard was coated with a foam, rescue crews began a grim, detailed search through the charred hulks to look for any residents injured or killed, Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Riley said.

No one has been reported missing, but rescue crews used a checklist of occupants in the buildings in an effort to account for all residents, Riley said.

By late Friday, rescue crews completed 95% of a search of the buildings, he said.

"If there is anybody there, chances of survivability would be low," Riley told reporters.

The two pilots ejected safely, the Navy said. Resident Pat Kavanaugh told CNN affiliate WTKR that he and others found one of them still strapped to his seat with cuts to his face. Kavanaugh said he was on his couch when he heard a loud boom and was startled to see a parachute hanging from the building.

In shock, the pilot apologized for his jet crashing into the apartment complex, and residents pulled him safely away from the fiery crash zone, said Kavanaugh, a retired rescue worker.

The two pilots, a Virginia Beach police officer, an EMS volunteer and three other people were treated for injuries at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. One of the pilots was admitted, while the other six patients were released, the hospital's website said.

Both pilots, who live in Virginia Beach, are "doing well, and they suffered minor injuries," Weisgerber said.

The jet, which was not carrying live ordnance, was part of a training squadron at Naval Air Station Oceana, the Navy and Federal Aviation Administration said. It crashed 2.2 miles from the runway, a senior Defense Department official told CNN.

Eyewitnesses and residents described their community -- so accustomed to military planes taking off near their homes -- suddenly taking a surreal turn for the worse when the jet fell out of the sky and spewed its fuel, a possible maneuver to minimize the inevitable fire upon crashing.

One ejection seat shell ripped through an oak tree and crashed into a condo fence, and the other seat shell landed next door, suggesting that the two Navy pilots ejected at a low altitude, another resident, Keith Gutkowski, told CNN.

Colby Smith told CNN affiliate WVEX that he was in his bathroom when he felt his "whole house shaking." Then he looked out his bedroom window and "saw nothing but red, just red and orange flashing. And just a crackling noise. I was like, 'What is that?' " he said.

Smith said he ran outside, saw a friend and eventually spotted a pilot who was "laying there" and bleeding. He said he and several others then picked up the pilot and carried him to safety. It wasn't immediately clear Friday whether the pilot was the same one that Kavanaugh assisted.

CNN's Michael Martinez, Barbara Starr, Greg Botelho, Mike Ahlers and Sandra Endo contributed to this report.

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