The US Navy says one of its aircraft with two aviators on board has crashed during a training flight in East Tennessee.
The incident took place Sunday afternoon, when the T-45C Goshawk jet on a training flight from Meridian, Missouri, went down in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains.
The Navy said in a press release that the jet was carrying two pilots, an instructor and a student, but their status was unknown. Federal authorities said they assumed the crash was fatal.
Investigators told Local media that civilians were being kept three miles away from the crash site due to reports the plane had explosives on board as well.
The Chief of Naval Air Training was investigating the site of the crash while Monroe County authorities, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the US Forestry Division were also helping with the rescue operation.
The T-45 is used to train all US Navy student pilots in jet aircraft.
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