LaFAYETTE, Ga. – The Civil Air Patrol says a missing Navy jet with four aviators aboard was found tonight, more than 24 hours after it failed to make its scheduled landing at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida.
CAP Captain Paige Joyner says the fate of the crew is not know at this time. She says ground crews are on the scene.
Floyd County Sheriff Tim Burkhalter said the wreckage of the jet was found in southern Walker County between Lake Marvin and Villanow. Burkhalter said he could not confirm if the wreckage is that of a missing Navy jet, but was told earlier in the evening by the Georgia State Patrol that they were looking in the area for the wreckage.
Moments later, Joyner confirmed that it was the missing plane.
The search for a Navy jet and the four aviators on board covered a swath of Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama earlier today.
Captain Lee Little, a pilot in charge of Training Wing Six based at Pensacola, said the search area stretched from Chattanooga to Montgomery over rugged terrain. A Navy instructor, a Navy student, an Air Force student and a civilian contract pilot were on board. Their identities have not been released.
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