Jet 'miracle' credited to multiple factors

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A 12-ton Navy jet loaded with tons of diesel fuel crashes in a spectacular fireball into a big apartment complex, scattering plane parts and wiping out some 40 units. How is it that everyone survived?

The mayor of Virginia Beach could only call it a "Good Friday miracle," and pilots marveled at how a failed training flight that engulfed buildings in flames managed to crash without killing anyone.

The student pilot, his instructor and five on the ground were hurt, but all were out of the hospital by Saturday.

Investigators, witnesses and experts said multiple factors were at play:

Most of the F/A-18D jet's fuel was dumped before the crash, causing less of an explosion.

The Navy credited neighbors and citizens with pulling pilots away from the flames after they safely ejected.

The plane crashed into the apartment complex's empty courtyard, and two days before Easter in the middle of the day, most residents weren't home.

"I think it was a lot of fortuity," said Daniel O. Rose, a former Navy jet pilot.

Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms took to Twitter Saturday to celebrate the fact no lives were lost, calling it a "Good Friday miracle."

The F/A-18 Hornet suffered some sort of massive mechanical problem while soaring above Virginia Beach on Friday, sending it plunging into the Mayfair Mews apartment complex and taking out dozens of units. All residents had been accounted for Saturday after careful apartment checks, fire department Capt. Tim Riley said.

Investigators will work from the outside of the site toward the center to gather parts from the jet and examine them, as well as check out the flight data recorders, which had not yet been recovered, Harvey said. The investigation could take weeks.

The airmen were from Naval Air Station Oceana, less than 10 miles away.

They were able to safely escape the aircraft, which weighs up to 50,000 pounds fully fueled and armed, before it careened into the apartment complex, demolishing sections of some buildings and engulfing others in flames.