"He was a little shaken up," a witness. "The first thing he said to me, even before he said, `I'm OK,' he said, `I hope I didn't kill anybody."'

The lieutenant said one of the jet's engines had gone out during his training mission and that the other one failed as he tried to make it back to MCAS Miramar for an emergency landing.

"He said he was powerless," a witness. "He said he stayed with the bird as long as he could."

Several witnesses reported hearing loud popping sounds -- apparently the ejection mechanisms of the pilot's seat and the unoccupied second seat -- just before the jet went down.