F-18 Crashes In San Diego, Kills Two

An F-18 has crashed in San Diego, killing at least two people two miles from the famous Marine Corps Air Station Miramar*, after the pilot ejected. According to a witness, the tragedy could have been huge:

I did not realise until about 40 minutes later, on my way back to work, that they jet had actually crashed… barely missing the local high school.

So even while losing the life of two people was tragic, the high school escaped unscathed. Another witness said that the F/A-18D Hornet “spiralled out of control, just like out of Top Gun” before hitting the heavily-populated University City area at around 12:00am local time.

Right now, there are no details about what was the cause of the catastrophe. The pilot was injured after landing in a tree. He was later moved to the Balboa Naval Hospital, according to an official military spokesperson.

* In case your 80s culture is rusty, Air Station Miramar was featured in Top Gun. [BBC News via Huffington Post]