Pilots survive after Navy jets collide in mid-air over Texas, officials say

Two Navy jets collided in mid-air over Texas, but no one was seriously injured, officials say.

The two T-45 Goshawk training aircraft from a training squadron based at Naval Air Station Kingsville collided about 11 a.m. Monday, according to the Chief of Naval Air Training.

One of the planes landed safely at the air station, while a pilot instructor and student in the other aircraft safely ejected about nine miles south of Kingsville near Ricardo, officials say. One of the pilots went to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid said the aircraft crashed deep within King Ranch, which is about 825,000 acres, KRIS reported

William Rogers told KRIS he was gardening when he heard two loud explosions.

“As it went above the cloud deck of the property beside me, I heard an engine blow out,” Rogers told KRIS. “It traveled about another half-mile south and just got completely silent. The engines cut out and didn’t hear anything else. I then saw the explosion when it hit the ground, the mushroom cloud, and about 20 minutes later some officers came by here looking for parachuters.”

The incident is under investigation.

“Fortunately, all pilots are safe,” Naval Air Station Kingsville posted on Facebook.

This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Pilots survive after Navy jets collide in mid-air over Texas, officials say."