(ORANGE BEACH, Ala.) December 1 -- A Blue Angels pilot safely ejected Wednesday from his jet during a training flight over the Gulf of Mexico, the Navy precision flying team said. The F/A-18 Hornet went down at 2:45 p.m. local time off Perdido Key, a barrier island on the Florida-Alabama border, about 10 miles from Pensacola Naval Air Station, where the Blue Angels are headquartered.
The identity of the pilot, who was in good condition at Pensacola's Naval Hospital, was being withheld pending notification of his family, according to a statement released by the Blue Angels.
NBC 15 News spoke by phone with Paul Gordon, a Montgomery area roofer who was in the area working and saw the plane go down. "We saw him lose power, and he slowly coasted down," says Gordon. "We did not actually see him eject, he was behind a condominium at the time. From there we saw the plane come out and traveled another quarter of a mile, I guess, and hit the water."
Gordon says the plane created a large "splash" but they were unable to hear any noise because of the distance from the crash.