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Military training jet crashes into ocean near Morro Bay

September 23, 2026

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A military training jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Morro Bay on Tuesday evening.

Shortly before 7 p.m., the pilot of an MK-58 Hawker Hunter ran into trouble. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. I’ve lost thrust,” the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to a recording posted on social media.

The pilot ejected from the Hawker Hunter, and the jet crashed about six miles northwest of Morro Bay. A Coast Guard crew then searched the area with help from other agencies’ personnel. 

A Navy search and rescue helicopter located the pilot and hoisted him out of the ocean at about 7:30 p.m. The helicopter transported the pilot to a hospital in Fresno.

The Hawker Hunter had been operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), a government contractor. ATAC operates aircrafts in a variety of training roles for the military.

 


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Some additional aircraft info from ChatGPT:


“And perhaps the most remarkable fact is this: the Hunter that crashed off Morro Bay was originally delivered to the RAF on April 20, 1956. It survived RAF service, Royal Navy service, conversion to a Swiss F.58A, 24 years of Swiss service, a second life as one of Britain’s most colorful airshow jets, and finally a third life as an American military-training adversary aircraft.


70 years of flying history ended in the Pacific on September 22, 2026.”


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