A Hawker Hunter crashed during an Air National Guard training exercise off the coast of Hawaii on Wednesday. The pilot was able to eject and was rescued about three miles south of Oahu by a private sailboat. He was then transferred to a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and taken to a hospital. It has been reported that he sustained serious injuries but is in stable condition.
The jet went down at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time shortly after takeoff from Honolulu International Airport (HNL). Outbound flights from HNL were held for about 20 minutes following the crash. The pilot’s name has not been released. He is reported to be a civilian contractor who was participating in a military exercise called Sentry Aloha, which is hosted by the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing.
More than 800 personnel and 30 aircraft from nine states are involved in the exercise. Activities were suspended following the crash but are scheduled to resume on Thursday. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
The crash was captured by a Surfline Waikiki camera, shown below.
