Overview

• Authorities say the ATAC-operated Hawker Hunter, callsign ATAC 12, went down a few miles off the Big Sur coast shortly after 11 a.m. local time on October 15.
• ATAC 11 remained overhead, relayed the emergency to air traffic control, and transmitted the 7700 code while circling the site.
• An MH-60S Seahawk from NAS Lemoore, callsign RESCUE04, recovered the pilot from the water and transported him to Stanford Medical Center.
• The pilot is reported to have suffered a serious spinal injury, and officials have not released a cause for the crash.
• ATAC flies vintage jets as contracted adversaries for U.S. forces, and records show multiple prior Hunter incidents, including losses in 2018 and 2022.