(CNN) Two naval aviators have been declared dead after their FA-18 fighter jet crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida, on Wednesday around 4:30 p.m., the US Navy announced on Twitter.

The two-person crew ejected, Navy Cmdr. Mike Kafka said. The Navy added that the jet, which was on a training flight, is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 213, known as the Blacklions.

Rescue crews recovered both aviators from the water, the Navy said in a tweet . They were taken by ambulance to Lower Keys Medical Center.

The jet crashed on approach to Naval Air Station Key West, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, according to the tweet.

"We are sad to report that both aviators have been declared deceased," the Naval Air Forces' tweet said . "Their families are in our prayers. Per policy, we will withhold notification pending NOK notification."

Read More</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. aviators have died after their F/A-18 fighter jet crashed off Key West, Florida, during a training flight.

According to ABCNews, the two-seater F/A-18F was on approach to Boca China Field at Naval Air Station Key West when it went down in shallow water about a mile from the runway, a Navy spokesman said.

The two deceased crew members have been recovered.

According to officials, the aircraft was to land at the naval air station around 4:30 p.m. EDT, and crashed The pilot and weapons system officer ejected.

The aircraft crew is based out of Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine fighter jet that is larger than the single-seat F/A-18 Hornet.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details before the information has been made public.

Find 8News on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; send your news tips to iReport8@wric.com.</s>Two U.S. Navy aviators died Wednesday after the F/A-18F Super Hornet jet they were flight training in crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida.

The aviators -- one pilot and one weapons systems officer -- ejected from the twin-engine jet, which crashed around 4:30 p.m. on final approach to Boca Chica Field at Naval Air Station Key West, the Navy said in a statement. A source told Fox News that the jet was flying back on one engine when it lost the other at low altitude.

Both crew members, based out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, were taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center.

A marina owner in the Florida Keys told WPLG that the Hornet jet caught fire mid-air, then crashed.

The Super Hornet is a twin-engine fighter jet that is larger than the single-seat F/A-18 Hornet.

The Department of Defense will not identify the aviators publicly until 24 hours after their families are notified. The crash remains under investigation.

President Trump during a roundtable at Boeing on Wednesday called the F/A-18 a work of "art," and said that he's working with Congress to fund 24 new jets.

The jet was from the VFA-213 Blacklions squadron. Last year, the same squadron deployed aboard USS George H.W. Bush to conduct ISIS strikes in Iraq and Syria.

US MILITARY CRASHES, COLLISIONS IN THE PACIFIC

Earlier this month, an F/A-18 from the squadron performed a rare nighttime flyover in Annapolis, Maryland, ahead of a Capitals versus Maple Leafs outdoor NHL hockey game played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

In November, the head of Naval Aviation told Congress that only half the Navy’s 542 F-18 Super Hornet jets can fly right now and only 31 percent are fully mission capable and ready to “fight tonight.”

Fox News' Kelly Chernenkoff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Barbie Wilson Photography(KEY WEST, Fla.) — Two U.S. Navy aviators have died after their F/A-18 fighter jet crashed off Key West, Florida, during a training flight.

The two-seater F/A-18F was on approach to Boca Chica Field at Naval Air Station Key West when it went down in shallow water about a mile from the runway, a Navy spokesman said.

“The mishap occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT,” Cmdr. Dave Hecht, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said earlier today. “Search and rescue were alerted at 4:37 p.m. and were on the scene by 4:40 p.m.”

“Search and rescue efforts recovered the pilot and the weapons system officer who were aboard the aircraft,” said Hecht.

“They were brought to Boca Chica and taken by ambulance to Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West,” he added.

The crash was first reported by eyewitnesses who described a helicopter hovering above a jet lying in the waters off of Key West.</s>A US Navy fighter jet crashed on Wednesday (Mar. 14) while it was on approach to Boca Chica Field, Naval Air Station, Key West in Florida. A pilot and weapons system officer were onboard the jet, and were both declared dead by the Navy.</s>A Navy F-18 fighter jet crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida, on Wednesday around 4:30 p.m., according to Navy Cmdr. Mike Kafka.

Rescue crews recovered both aviators from the water, the Navy said in a tweet . They were taken by ambulance to Lower Keys Medical Center; their condition is unknown.

The Navy added that the jet, which was on a training flight, is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 213, known as the Blacklions.

It crashed on approach to Naval Air Station Key West, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, according to the tweet.</s>The two-person crew of a Navy fighter jet on a training flight ejected before the plane crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida, on Wednesday, the Navy said.

The two crew members aboard the F/A-18F Super Hornet, which was attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, were recovered from the water and were being treated at Lower Keys Medical Center, said the Navy, which didn't disclose their conditions.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office told NBC Miami that it dispatched units but that the Navy said it had the situation under control and didn't need assistance.

Key West, part of the Florida Keys archipelago, is the southernmost point in the state, about 90 miles north of Cuba.

NAS Oceana is one of only three Navy master jet bases, which are home to carrier-based tactical jet squadrons and carrier air wings.</s>Navy officials say a U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday off the coast of Key West, Florida, and its two crew members have been recovered, but their conditions are not known.

According to officials, the F/A-18 Super Hornet was on approach to land at the naval air station around 4:30 p.m. EDT, and crashed into the water about a mile east of the runway. The pilot and weapons system officer ejected.

The aircraft crew is based out of Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine fighter jet that is larger than the single-seat F/A-18 Hornet.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details before the information has been made public.</s>WASHINGTON: The U.S. Navy said on Wednesday two aviators had been killed in a F/A-18F Super Hornet crash during a training flight off the coast of Key West, Florida.

The Navy said in a statement the pilot and weapons systems officer were recovered from the water and declared dead after the two-seater jet crashed on its final approach to Naval Air Station Key West. The incident is under investigation, it said.</s>KEY WEST, Fla. — A Navy F-18 fighter jet crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida on Wednesday afternoon, according to US Navy Commander Mike Kafka.

The two-man crew ejected but their fate is unknown and search and rescue efforts are underway, Kafka said.

This story is breaking and will be updated.
Two U.S. Navy aviators – a pilot and a weapons officer – are killed after they eject from their FA-18 fighter jet, which crashes into the sea off Key West, Florida.