Navy: Cause of Meridian NAS crash under investigation
A plane crash at the Meridian Naval Air Station Wednesday was actually a training mishap, officials said.
U.S. Navy personnel said the T-45 jet aircraft assigned to Training Air Wing One crashed in a heavily wooded area Wednesday at approximately 1:15 p.m. while conducting a training flight.
The student and instructor pilot were able to eject safely near the airfield at NAS Meridian.
Both Metro Ambulance and NAS first responders were dispatched to the scene of the mishap, and both pilots were subsequently taken to a local medical facility.
The cause of the mishap is so far undetermined.
"They hit the wrong button and were ejected," Metro Ambulance director Clayton Cobler said.
Public Affairs Officer for Chief of Naval Air Training Lt. jg Elizabeth Feaster called Cobler's summation "speculation."
"We don't know what happened yet and an investigation has commenced to determine the cause of the mishap," Feaster said.
Doctors had both pilots transported to hospitals, one with neck pain and one with leg pain, Cobler said. Their injuries are not life-threatening.
Lauderdale County Emergency Management was not called to the scene.
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Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.