Two pilots and two weapons systems officers are being treated after two F/A-18F Super Hornets collided off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday morning. The two jets, assigned to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., collided during a routine training flight near Cape Hatteras, N.C., at 10:40 a.m., Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said during a Thursday briefing. The aircrew was alert and talking when they were picked up. Three Coast Guard helicopters, along with a Coast Guard C-130, the USS Mesa Verde, and “good Samaritans” in private boats helped recover the aircrew, Cook said. A safety investigation has begun to determine the cause of the crash.
The program executive officers for some of the Air Force’s largest acquisition management organizations are struggling to deal with an exodus of senior talent and experienced civilian staff, three of them told an industry conference.
