US Navy Fighter Jet Crashes into Virginia Building

The burning fuselage of an F/A-18 Hornet lies smoldering after crashing into a residential building in Virginia Beach, Va., Friday, April 6, 2012. Photo from The Boston Globe

A US Navy jet with two aviators aboard crashed Friday just after 11 a.m. into an apartment building in Virginia Beach, VA.

Two pilots have been transported to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department and the Navy, which confirmed the incident on its official Twitter account.

A Navy spokesman said that the plane that crashed was an F/A-18 Hornet -- a two-seat jet, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Rescue crews from Virginia Beach remain on the crash scene at the Mayfair View apartment complex.

There were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground. TV footage showed black smoke billowing from near some buildings and local TV stations said the jet hit an apartment building.

Sean Pepe, of Norfolk, and Kenny Carver, of Hampton were driving on Interstate 264 when they saw the jet seem to be "floating" in the air before it went down behind some trees.

"It was odd, but we didn't think anything of it," Pepe said. "We thought it was doing maneuvers. We were watching the plane but didn't see the impact. We saw it go down and there was a 'boom.' Then there was black smoke everywhere."

The Hampton Roads area of Virginia has a large concentration of military bases, including Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world. Naval Air Station Oceana is located in Virginia Beach.

The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk quoted a spokesman for Naval Air Force Atlantic who said the jet crashed in the vicinity of Birdneck Road in the sprawling resort city.

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