Like its legendary predecessor, the new Skyraider was built for armed overwatch and attack in permissive environments, though the battlespace is not what it once was.
Both the aviators safely ejected and were rescued by an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter. The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries.
Koziol confirmed to reporters on a conference call that the male instructor pilot had more than 1,000 hours of flight time, the female pilot who was commanding the flight at the time had more than 500 hours of flight time, and the crew chief was also said to have hundreds of hours of flight time.