A fighter pilot once stationed at Hill Air Force Base died after his F-16 collided with another military plane off the south Georgia coast.
The midair collision occurred Friday morning over the Atlantic, about 40 miles east of Brunswick.Rescue crews suspended their search for Lt. Col. John M. Steward Friday night. His body had not been recovered as of Saturday afternoon, but Capt. Mark Berry of the Arkansas Air National Guard issued a statement saying Steward died in the crash.
Steward, 40, was an active-duty Air Force adviser for the 188th Fighter Group of the AANG. He was a 1975 graduate of the Air Force Academy and was previously assigned to Hill Air Force Base. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Steward, of Eden, Weber County.
The pilot of the other plane, Capt. Bryant P. McGuire, was rescued by the Coast Guard shortly after the collision.
McGuire, who was found floating on a raft, had no injuries and was taken to Winn Army Community Hospital at Fort Stewart for observation. He was with the 159th Fighter Group of the Louisiana Air National Guard.
A board of Air Force officers will investigate the accident.
The two planes took off from the Combat Readiness Training Center near Savannah as part of a routine training exercise.