U.S. fighter jet crashes into the sea off Australia's east coast

A U.S. fighter jet crashed into the sea after failing to land on an aircraft carrier off Australia's east coast, officials and media reports said Sunday. No one was injured.

The pilot _ whose name was not immediately released _ ejected into the sea Saturday after the unsuccessful landing attempt about 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of the Queensland state capital, Brisbane, according to Rhylla Morgan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Sydney.

"A single seat F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter had a problem landing on board the carrier during flight operations early yesterday morning," Morgan said after the incident was made public Sunday.

"They were attempting to land on the flight deck. Something went wrong (so) the pilot ejected," she said. No one was injured in the accident.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said the pilot was pulled from the sea by a ship helicopter but the 37 million Australian dollar (US$28 million; Ђ23 million) jet was unlikely to be recovered.

The ship, the USS Ronald Reagan, had been due to conduct naval operations in support of the war on terror as well as security commitments in the western Pacific, the ABC said, AP reported. V.A.