Navy fighter jet crashes in the Persian Gulf

A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Tuesday shortly after launching from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, the Navy said. 

The F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet took off from the USS Theodore Roosevelt at around 5:30 p.m. local time, but crashed shortly afterwards.

{mosads}The two personnel onboard ejected from the jet and were recovered by search and rescue crew on the Roosevelt, though the plane was not.

Initial reports indicate they are both conscious and alert, without serious injury, said a Navy spokesman. 

“The crash was not a result of hostile activity,” the spokesman said. The Navy is investigating the cause, he said. 

The carrier was operating in the Northern Persian Gulf, in support of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. 

The F/A-18 belongs to the Strike Fighter Squadron 211 based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, and is assigned to Carrier Air Wing One.