A Massachusetts Air National Guard officer says authorities are still searching for the pilot of a fighter jet that crashed in Virginia and do not know whether the pilot may have ejected.
The single-seat F-15C crashed in the mountains of western Virginia on Wednesday morning.
Col. James Keefe of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard said at a news conference in Westfield, Massachusetts, that the missing pilot is an experienced flyer. He said the plane was on its way to New Orleans to have a radar installed as part of routine maintenance.
Keefe said he had not received confirmation that anyone had reached the crash site.
“There were eyewitnesses as far as it went down,” Keefe said. “There was actually a pilot in small aircraft who actually was the first one to notice the crash site. He did see some smoke. Again, it is extremely wooded. It’s very difficult to get support assets out to that area. So it’s going to a little bit longer. The Virginia Air National Guard is kind of lead on this. They’re pushing forces forward to that area.”
Officials say the pilot reported an inflight emergency, then lost radio contact.
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