What happened
Following the completion of an airborne intercept training mission for the US Navy, two aircraft were traveling back to their base. The aircraft involved in the accident, registration FNT701, was accompanied by another aircraft, FNT492. Radar monitoring indicated that FNT701 was cruising at 22,700 feet before a minor descent to 22,500 feet. After maintaining this altitude for roughly two and a half minutes, the aircraft entered a rapid descent that led to an impact with the ocean surface.
During this final descent, the rate of descent accelerated from approximately 5,000 fpm to as high as 19,000 fpm. While no formal distress signals were issued, two radio transmissions lasting about 30 seconds in total were captured. These recordings contained no verbal communication, consisting only of an open microphone and the sound of engines; however, the word 'oh' was audible during the first transmission. The accompanying aircraft, FNT492, observed FNT701 dropping below the cloud layer but did not receive any emergency alerts. Search and rescue efforts yielded very little wreckage. The pilot, who was the only person on board, was killed.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by pilot incapacitation due to undetermined reasons.