Officials: Pilots rescued after two F-15Cs collideStory Highlights
NEW: Pilots alive, but conditions unknown after jets collide over Gulf of Mexico
F-15Cs collided during training exercise, officials say
Planes were part of the 33rd Fighter Wing based at Eglin Air Force Base
Crash happened at 3 p.m. ET, about 50 miles south of Panama City, Florida
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(CNN) -- Two Air Force fighter pilots have been rescued after their F-15C jets collided during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, according to Air Force officials.
Two F-15C fighter jets, like the one pictured, collided over the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force says.
Both pilots are alive, but Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Lois Walsh said she was unable to comment about their conditions.
The planes were from the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat-flying unit out of Eglin Air Force Base, near Pensacola, Florida.
The crash happened about 3 p.m. about 50 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said helicopters, airplanes and ships were deployed from Florida, Alabama and Louisiana to help with the search.
Air Force search and rescue and U.S. Coast Guard crews raced to the scene of the collision to pick up the two fliers, who had been on a routine training mission.
In January, a top Air Force general said a manufacturing defect blamed for causing a midair breakup of an F-15C Eagle, which occurred in November, might lead the Air Force to permanently ground a quarter of those warplanes.
There is no information that points to a manufacturing defect as the cause of Wednesday's incident
