A chartered fishing boat crew sprang into action and saved two US Navy pilots after they emergency ejected from a fighter jet moments before it crash landed into the San Diego Bay.
The Premier fishing boat was first on the scene when the fighter jet fell from the skies on Wednesday morning, with the explosion captured on shocking surveillance video.
Brandon Diets, the captain of the fishing boat, said his first thoughts were to race over to find the pilots after seeing them ‘hit the water.’
‘I just thought ‘We gotta go,’ and we headed straight for them’ he told NBC San Diego.
‘We didn’t know if they were hurt… we just knew there were people in the water and we had to get them out.’
Before the crash landing, Diets said that he noticed the plane ‘seemed a little louder than normal’, and that by the time he turned around to look he could see two parachutes in the air.
The Growler was flying ‘super low’ and stayed in the air for a couple of minutes before it dived into the water, he said.
Video footage taken on Wednesday morning showed the E/A-18G Growler Electronic Warfare aircraft plunging at high speed into the San Diego bay
The pilots were rescued by Brandon Diets, the captain of a fishing boat that was first on the scene
Images showed the pilots moments after they ejected
‘One of our co-workers was up on deck and started calling us up,’ said witness Conner Palmer to NBC San Diego.
‘It seemed like you were watching a Star Wars movie, it crashed down straight into the water, massive explosion of water and sand, and you just honestly had no idea what you just watched.’
Witness Carol Gonzales said she knew ‘something was happening’ when she saw two orange parachutes dip into the waters, and ‘the next thing you know (the aircraft) was coming straight down into the water.’
Emergency crews including 60 personnel, two boats, five fire engines and a helicopter team were rushed to the scene around 10:15am local time, San Diego Fire and Rescue said.
Several crews with the Navy were also seen working the crash site to prevent fuel from spilling into the waters from the downed aircraft as they work to retrieve it.
The owner of the fishing boat that picked up the pilots said staff on the boat sprang into action when they saw the aviators eject from the military aircraft.
‘As all of our crews are trained in lifesaving efforts, immediately came about, turned around picked up both pilots that were in the water,’ general manager Frank Ursitti told NBC San Diego.
Witnesses said the plane crash landed with a ‘massive explosion of water and sand’
Brandon Diets, the captain of the fishing boat, said his first thoughts were to race over to find the pilots after seeing them ‘hit the water’
Witness Conner Palmer said the crash was like ‘something out of a Star Wars movie’, and said that once the pilots were saved from the water, he saw them hugging each other and ‘checking the other was okay in a heartwarming moment
‘And as they were boarding the pilots on the water, [the captain] observed the plane actually ditch into San Diego Bay.’
He said the two pilots were conscious when they were pulled from the water. Both were raced to UC San Diego Medical Center in stable condition after being rescued from the waters.
Palmer added that once the pilots were saved from the water, he saw them hugging each other and ‘checking the other was okay in a heartwarming moment.
The pilots were kept under 24-hour medical observation, but are both in good condition, the Navy said in a press release yesterday evening.
The most recent incident involving an EA-18G Growler aircraft came in October 2024, when one of the Navy fighter jets crashed near Mount Rainier in Washington State, leading to the deaths of both pilots on board.
The EA-18G Growler (seen in an unrelated image from 2018) is one of the most powerful aircraft in the US military arsenal
It also comes after a wave of aviation accidents rocked the US in recent weeks, including one of the worst air disasters in recent memory 15 days ago when an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a military helicopter over Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people.
Days later, a small air ambulance crash landed in Pennsylvania, killing six people aboard the jet and a seventh on the ground.
These disasters were followed by a small jet dropping off radars in Alaska last week, leading to the deaths of all 10 people on board.
And three days ago, a private jet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil crashed when its landing gear failed while touching down at an airfield in Scottsdale, Arizona, killing the pilot and injuring three others.
