Six crewmembers of the Strike Fighter Squadron 102 from Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan, were injured when an F/A 18-F Super Hornet was involved in an accident Saturday evening on the flight deck of the USS Kitty Hawk, according to a press release from the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
The Kitty Hawk was approximately 100 miles southeast of its home port of Yokosuka, Japan, when the accident occurred, the release stated. Lt. Cmdr. Marc Boyd, a Seventh Fleet spokesman, said the 6:30 p.m. accident occurred as the F/A 18 was landing.
The F/A 18’s two pilots were “safely recovered” after the accident and are reported to be in good condition, Boyd said. The six crewmembers sustained injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Three of the injured were to be taken by helicopter to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka for further medical treatment, he added.
Details on the extent of the injuries and names of the crewmembers involved were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, he said.
Seventh Fleet declined to release further details Saturday about the accident, citing an ongoing investigation.