US Navy pilot safely ejected before aircraft crashed in California bay

A US Navy pilot safely ejected into San Diego Bay before a training jet went off the end of a runway landing at Naval Air Station North Island, Fox News reported.

Boaters were able to rescue the pilot from the bay that separates the base in Cornado from downtown San Diego, the Navy said.

The pilot was taken by helicopter to University of California, San Diego Medical Center for evaluation and was released.

The pilot was training for aircraft-landing qualifications in a T-45C Goshawk when the crash occurred. There was nobody onboard the aircraft, Lt. Reagan Lauritzen, a Navy spokeswoman, said.

The downed plane could be seen in the bay's shallow water, barely offshore from the base. The Navy was working to lift the jet out of the water. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

The T-45C Goshawk is a tandem-seat jet used to train Navy Marines Corps pilots. The downed aircraft was assigned to Training Squadron Nine, stationed in Meridian, Mississippi.