U.S. Navy fighter crashes into apartment complex in Virginia

PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. Navy F/A-18D fighter crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia soon after takeoff on Friday, April 6, sending fireballs into the sky, damaging six buildings and injuring at least seven people, Reuters reported.

No deaths have been reported, but three residents of the Mayfair Mews complex for the elderly were unaccounted for, authorities said.

All the injuries, including those to the F/A-18 crew, have so far been described as minor, officials said. Both crew members ejected safely from the aircraft before it crashed into the buildings in Virginia Beach, and one pilot was found still strapped into his ejection seat.

Four of the injured were taken to a hospital for treatment. Authorities had said nine people were injured, but later revised the number to seven, not including the pilots.

The F/A-18D "suffered a catastrophic mechanical malfunction" during a training flight, Navy Captain Mark Weisgerber said in a statement from the Pentagon.

Crews searched for any injured residents in five buildings, several of which have collapsed. Three residents in one building were unaccounted for. Investigators will remain on the scene for three or four more days after the search is complete.