Search underway after F-16s collide over Atlantic

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US military launched a nighttime search for a pilot missing in the Atlantic ocean Thursday after two F-16 fighter jets collided, the US Air Force said.

One of the two aircraft landed safely at an air force base near Charleston in the southeastern state of South Carolina, from where the single-pilot fighters were conducting a night proficiency training mission.

"There is a search underway for one pilot," Air Force Technical Sergeant Vincent Mouzon told AFP, adding that the search was continuing into early Friday.

The US Coast Guard launched search and rescue teams in two vessels and a helicopter to try and locate the pilot some 30 miles (48 kilometers) off the coast of Charleston, a Coast Guard official said.

The jets involved in the collision are stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, where pilots routinely practice with night-vision equipment as part of their combat training.