‘Mayday’: Audio captures moment military jet crashes off California coast

A military jet pilot was successfully rescued after crashing into the Pacific Ocean near San Luis Obispo earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to SFGATE Thursday. 

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According to the agency, the aircraft, an MK-58 Hawker Hunter, lost engine power on Tuesday around 6:50 p.m., crashing into the water off the Central Coast and sustaining substantial damage. Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft, with the callsign SNAKE4, circling over the ocean near Half Moon Bay several times before vanishing from radar. 

At the time, the pilot was conducting oval exercises in the area, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. Only the pilot was onboard, the FAA told SFGATE. 

In a recent Instagram post shared by Lemoore Search and Rescue, an elite navy helicopter team in charge of rescuing the pilot, they could be heard radioing a distress signal as they lost power over the ocean: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. I have lost thrust in my engine,” the pilot said in the recording, which was originally captured on liveatc.net.  

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The pilot of the training aircraft has been rescued and taken to a nearby local hospital, CNN reported.