"One of the beloved Blue Angels, the Navy's elite flight demonstration squadron, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near Perdido Key today, but the pilot survived.
The F/A-18 Hornet went down in the gulf at approximately 2:45 p.m., during a routine training mission with another Blue Angels jet, according to Chief Victor Brabble, a spokesman for the team.
He said the pilot ejected from the jet before the crash and was located by rescue teams who pulled him from the gulf within about 10 minutes. He appeared to be in good condition but was still being evaluated at Pensacola Naval Hospital Wednesday evening.
The pilot's name has not yet been released, pending notification of his next of kin.
The pilot was taken to the hospital by helicopter about an hour after the crash, according to hospital spokesman Rod Duren. He was taken immediately into the emergency room, where he remained under observation Wednesday evening.
Duren did not know the extent of the pilot's injuries and did not know whether he would be kept overnight for further evaluation.
The crash site is about 6 miles off-shore, near the Flora-Bama Lounge, about 10 miles from Pensacola Naval Air Station.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Navy and the Chief of Naval Air Training, Brabble said. The $28 million jet has been located and is considered a total loss, though it has not yet been recovered from the water.
Lt. Garrett Kasper, a Blue Angels spokesman, said the team was conducting its first week of training for the 2005 season. Four other jets had flown training missions earlier in the day.
Often, the lead solo jets, planes 5 and 6, practice together, but officials would not confirm which plane had gone down.
After the pilot parachuted from the plane, he stayed buoyed by a flotation device. The other Blue Angels jet circled overhead, waiting on rescue teams to arrive.
The squad, which welcomed two new pilots and four new support staff in July, has been preparing for its annual winter training at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.
Kasper would not disclose whether the pilot of the downed jet is a newcomer to the team or a veteran. He also would not speculate on whether the pilot might face disciplinary action.
Lillian Walsh, owner of Lillian's Pan Pizza on Perdido Key Drive, said several of her customers witnessed the crash.
"We all went out to look," she said. "We saw about three helicopters and a Blue Angels jet flying in circles. All the customers here ran out and they were all pretty concerned."
Kasper would not say whether Blue Angels training is expected to continue today.
The most recent crash involving the Blue Angels was in October 1999. Two pilots were killed when their jet crashed during a pre-air show practice flight in south Georgia.
An investigation determined that a rib injury might have prevented Lt. Cmdr. Kieron O'Connor from tensing his abdominal muscles to avoid blacking out during a turn that exerts a high gravitational pull."
Source
Ze Dream 
Tout s'apprend (and, by the way, English isn't difficult... try German or Dutch to see what "hard" means 
