A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts routinely watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.
The crash sent dark smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his family's Panamint Springs Ranch about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and was the first to report the crash to park dispatch.
"I just saw a black mushroom cloud go up," Cassell told The Associated Press. "Typically you don't see a mushroom cloud in the desert."
A search was underway for the pilot of the single-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet that was on a routine training mission, said Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock, spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley.
"The status of the pilot is unknown at this time," Bock said about four hours after the crash.
Ambulances were sent to the crash site near Father Crowley Overlook, but it wasn't clear if anyone was transported for further medical treatment, said park spokesman Patrick Taylor. He said initial reports were that seven park visitors had minor injuries.
A military helicopter was searching for the pilot, he said.
Cassell said he heard jets flying through the area and then saw the cloud of smoke. He didn't see any parachute.
"It looked like a bomb," Cassell said. "To me that speaks of a very violent impact."
His father drove up to the area after the crash and saw a large black scorch mark and shattered parts of the jet scattered throughout the area between the parking lot and lookout, Cassell said. A nose cone from the jet was the size of a bowling ball and the rest of the debris was no larger than a ball cap.
The jet was from strike fighter squadron VFA-151 stationed at Lemoore. The squadron is part of an air group attached to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
The Super Hornet is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases on both air-superiority and ground-attack missions.
The crash site is about 160 miles (257 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.
HOUSTON (AP) — A bridge near Galveston, Texas, that was damaged last week when a barge carrying fuel broke free from a tugboat has reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic after safety inspections deemed it safe, officials said.
The barge crashed into a pillar supporting the Pelican Island Causeway span on May 15. The impact caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island.
After a review of the bridge by the Galveston County Navigation District No. 1 and underwater inspectors with the Texas Department of Transportation, the structure was reopened late Saturday night. Officials have set weight limits for vehicles using the bridge.
Early estimates had indicated that up to 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of oil spilled into surrounding waters following the collision.
On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard updated that figure, saying approximately 20,000 gallons (75,708 liters) of oil were spilled.
After the oil spill, authorities deployed a boom, or barrier, to contain the spill, forcing the temporary closure of about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway.
Clean up efforts have ended around Pelican Island. But crews were still removing oil and washing shoreside rocks along Swan Lake, a coastal recess located several miles west of Pelican Island along the Texas Coast.
During the clean-up efforts, crews recovered three dead, oiled birds from around Swan Lake: two brown pelicans and a laughing gull.
Nine other birds that were alive but covered in oil were spotted around Swan Lake, but officials said they were not able to recover them.
“To further protect wildlife, acoustic cannons were placed to provide an audible distraction to shore birds,” the Coast Guard said.
After the barge collision, Texas A&M University at Galveston, which has a campus on Pelican Island, had closed its facility. Fewer than 200 people related to the school were on the island at the time.
The university said the campus resumed normal operations on Monday.
The Coast Guard said the tugboat had lost control of the 321-foot barge “due to a break in the coupling” that had connected the two vessels.
The affected area is miles from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a large shipping channel for ocean-going vessels.
The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.
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Crews monitor spill booms at the Pelican Island bridge in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after a barge collided with the bridge Tuesday causing a partial collapse of the bridge and spilling vacuum gas oil into Galveston Bay. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Crews monitor spill booms at the Pelican Island bridge in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after a barge collided with the bridge Tuesday causing a partial collapse of the bridge and spilling vacuum gas oil into Galveston Bay. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Debris and railroad tracks from the Pelican Island bridge in Galveston lie atop a barge owned by Martin Marine on Wednesday, May 16, 2024. The barge crashed into the bridge at about 10 a.m. Tuesday closing the only road access to and from the island. The bridge Wednesday was open to car traffic leaving Pelican Island and pedestrian traffic both ways. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Spill booms surround a barge at the Pelican Island bridge in Galveston, Texas, Wednesday, May 16, 2024. The barge collided with the bridge Tuesday which caused a partial collapse of the bridge and spilled vacuum gas oil the barge was carrying into Galveston Bay. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Spill booms surround a barge at the Pelican Island bridge in Galveston, Texas, Wednesday, May 16, 2024. The barge collided with the bridge Tuesday which caused a partial collapse of the bridge and spilled vacuum gas oil the barge was carrying into Galveston Bay. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
