| An arresting wire broke during a fighter jet landing on the George Washington on Thursday afternoon, injuring about a dozen crew members, including five who had to be airlifted off the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier. One crew member was seriously injured, according to Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for the Naval Air Force Atlantic. Another spokesman for the Navy said none of the injuries was life-threatening, although some of the injured were taken to the Level I trauma unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The F/A-18 Hornet caught the flight deck’s No. 4 landing wire, but the jet fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the 4-inch-thick cable ``parted,’’ Robertson said. The pilot ejected from the single-seat strike fighter and was rescued. Robertson said she did not have complete information on the types of injuries or the conditions of the injured sailors. The snapping of the wire may have directly caused or led to some of the injuries, she said. The five most seriously injured were sent initially to Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, but some were rerouted to local hospitals based on their medical needs, Robertson said. Families of the injured were notified throughout the evening. |