2 Dead, 1 Hurt in Fighter Jet Collision Over Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — A pair of fighter jets collided in Oregon on Wednesday while conducting a training exercise, killing two reservists and injuring another.
At least one of the dead was a pilot; the other was a pilot or a weapons operator, said Capt. Michael Braibish of the Oregon National Guard.
Mid-Columbia Medical Center spokeswoman Yvonne Arbogast said a pilot who survived was being treated in the emergency room and was speaking and coherent.
The jets, both F-18 warplanes, collided over the Columbia River near Arlington, about 120 miles east of Portland.
Debris from the jets was scattered as far away as Interstate 84, eight miles south of Arlington.
The jets were conducting a low-altitude training exercise from a National Guard base in Portland. One plane was a single seater; the other had two seats.
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