F-14 crash kills U.S. pilot in Mediterranean

STUTTGART, Germany (CNN) -- A U.S. fighter pilot died Saturday after his F-14 Tomcat crashed into the Mediterranean Sea just after the plane took off from the deck of the USS John F. Kennedy, said a statement from the U.S. Army's European Command in Stuttgart.

Another crewman aboard the plane survived and was in stable condition. Both aviators ejected before the crash. Search-and-rescue teams recovered the men soon after the crash and brought them back to the Kennedy, where the pilot died.

The identities of the flyers are being withheld until their families are notified. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The USS John F. Kennedy was conducting flight-training operations 50 miles south of Crete when the crash occurred. The carrier was en route to relieve the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in the Arabian Sea.