Crews searching for pilot after fighter jet goes down off coast

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon Air National Guard F-15 fighter jet went down Tuesday afternoon in the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon Coast and there was no word on the fate of the pilot, the Oregon National Guard said.

The Coast Guard sent two helicopters, two cutters and a C-130 aircraft to search for the jet about 40 miles west of Cannon Beach on the state's north coast.

The jet was from the 142nd Fighter Wing Oregon Air National Guard and was on a training mission. It was based at Portland Air Base.

The helicopters found the crash site but no sign of the pilot Tuesday afternoon.

"The status of our pilot is unknown at this time," said Col. Steve Gregg, commander of the 142nd during a news conference. "Our focus and concern is on our pilot and the family, and we would appreciate your thoughts and prayers."

The cause of the accident was not known. Skies were mostly clear with some high clouds when the accident occurred about 1:35 p.m.

The water temperature was about 58 degrees, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Shawn Eggert, based in Seattle. The jets are usually equipped with a life boat, and pilots are outfitted in a way that "should have been enough to keep him warm out there for a while."

Another pilot there told the Coast Guard that no parachute was visible, Eggert said.

He said the Coast Guard was doing everything possible to locate the pilot "as quickly as possible and bring this guy home."

The crash occurred during a training mission involving four F-15s from the 142nd Fighter Wing and four U.S. Marine Corps Reserve F-18s from Fort Worth, Texas, Maj. Misti Mazzia said at the news conference.

The F-15 pilots were getting training against a different kind of aircraft, she said.

"The don't look like us. They have different tactics," she said.

Mazzia said most of the F-15 pilots are commercial pilots.

In July 2004, The two San Diego-based Marine reservists killed when their FA/18 Hornet collided with another jet over the Columbia River during a routine training exercise.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)