Free Republic

Zooming along at 170 mph in a fighter jet carrying thousands of pounds of volatile fuel, two Navy pilots faced nothing but bad choices when their aircraft malfunctioned over Virginia's most populated city. "Catastrophic engine system failure right after takeoff, which is always the most critical phase of flying, leaves very, very few options," said aviation safety expert and decorated pilot J.F. Joseph. "You literally run out of altitude, air speed and ideas all at the same time," he said. Somehow, however, the student pilot and his instructor and everyone on the ground survived Friday when the men ejected from...

(CNN) -- A Navy jet crashed Friday into some apartments near Virginia Beach, Virginia, sending flames and thick black smoke into the air, a military spokesman and a witness said. Two apartment buildings were on fire, CNN affiliate WTKR reporting, citing witnesses. The jet was from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The crew of the two-seater F/A-18 safely ejected, but their condition wasn't known, a Navy spokesman said. The plane is from a training squadron, the Navy said. George Pilkington, an eye witness to the crash, said he was the plane flying low,...