Navy pilots killed in jet crash

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, September 21, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Navy jet crashed into a park near Jacksonville Naval Air Station as it attempted to land in a rainstorm Wednesday, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

The S-3 Viking went down about noon in Westside Regional Park, across a highway from the landing strip, said Bill Dougherty, a Navy spokesman. The names of the two pilots were withheld.

“We saw a flash, heard a boom and then we went outside and saw smoke,” said Deena Trent, owner of a seafood restaurant near the crash site. “It was louder than thunder.”