HAwker Hunter crashes Off the CA Coast

A Hawker Hunter Mk-58 operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) crashed into the Pacific Ocean off California's Big Sur coast late Wednesday morning. The vintage British-built jet went down about five miles southwest of Big Sur around 11 a.m. after taking off from Oxnard, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The pilot ejected from the aircraft and was recovered from the water by a Navy MH-60 Seahawk search and rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Lemoore.

The Coast Guard told KSBW 8 that the pilot was transported to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto with a reported spinal injury. A coworker later confirmed to the station that the pilot was uninjured and had been released from the hospital.

According to radio communications and flight-tracking data shared on X, another Hunter, using the callsign "ATAC11," circled the site and worked with nearby civilian aircraft to relay information to air traffic control before the rescue helicopter arrived.

Phew...glad the pilot seems to be ok.

Second Hunter down around California in six months.

I'm glad that the pilot is OK!

Must have been circa 2007 I was down in Melbourne FL at the mall there, heard a noise, looked up and saw a 2 seat Hunter flying over. The aerospace firms down there do a lot of testing and it must have been associated with that. In fact they had a Canberra and a Jet Provost abandoned there for years.

Glad to hear the pilot is ok!