2 Air Force Pilots Are Safe After Their Training Jet Crashed In Mississippi

Two pilots safely ejected from an Air Force T-38C Talon II training aircraft, which crashed Wednesday near Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, officials said.

• Both pilots have been taken to a local hospital for evaluation but neither appears to be seriously injured, a spokesman for the 14th Training Wing told Task & Purpose. No one on the ground was injured by the crash.
• The cause of the crash is under investigation. Wednesday’s incident comes three weeks after nine airmen with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard were killed when their WC-130 crashed in Savannah, Georgia.
• Despite the reported increase in mishaps since 2013, Defense Department officials insist that military aviation is not facing a crisis. The Air Force's response to the increase in crashes has been to order a one-day safety standdown, which one official admitted  “probably won’t solve the problem.”

WATCH NEXT: