Fishing Crew Describe Rescuing Pilots of Jet That Crashed In San Diego Bay: 'They Seemed a Little Shook Up'

A fishing crew in the San Diego Bay rescued the two pilots who ejected from the military jet that crashed into the water moments later.

Speaking to Fox 5, Premier Sport Fishing Captain Brandon Viets said he is used to seeing military jets maneuvering in the area, as he docks his fishing charter boat near the Naval Air Station North Island.

However, he noticed that there was something wrong on this occasion. "I was thinking that's a funny maneuver they're doing because from time to time they do fly and it just sounded weird, and then once we saw two parachutes with dots underneath, we decided to turn the boat and head right to them and help them out," he said.

Viets went on to say that the pilots "seemed a little shook up" but another fisherman added that, overall, they were "okay and coherent" when brought onboard. "They were trying to check on each other to make sure they were all good," said Colin Casper.

The fisherman added that the jet was still in the air when they rescued the pilots. Viets, the captain, said it then crashed within a quarter of a mile where they rescued the pilots, narrowly missing their boat, which had 12 passengers on board.

The crew had recently trained for such an episode. "Coast Guard comes down, he runs over with man overboard and we ran through that on Monday, then we actually had a man overboard," said another fisherman, Steven Nares.

The crew was promptly thanked by the Port's Captain and Navy Admiral, said the owner of H and M Landing, where the boat operates. "These guys are true heroes, if it weren't for the fact that your swift reaction today, this could have had a far different outcome, so thank you, thank you all, you guys rescued a pair of naval aviators and if it weren't for your swift response and your training it could have ended much differently," said owner Frank Ursitti.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.