U.S. Navy calls off search for pilot in Pacific Ocean crash

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A missing fighter jet pilot was presumed dead on Saturday by U.S. Navy officials, a day after the pilot was involved in a mid-air collision with another jet over the western Pacific Ocean. The Navy in a statement on Saturday said it had called off the search for the pilot, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin. Several Navy helicopters and ships were involved in the effort to find the pilot. The two F/A-18 Hornet jets collided west of Wake Island, about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Hawaii at about 5:40 p.m. local time on Friday, according to a statement released by the Navy. "This is an exceptionally difficult time for the friends and family of the missing pilot and the Navy community," said Rear Admiral Christopher Grady, commander of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, in a statement. The other pilot involved in the collision was rescued on Friday and was treated aboard the USS Carl Vinson and has since been released, according to the Navy. The cause of the incident remains under investigation, the Navy said. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; editing by Jonathan Allen, G Crosse and Dan Whitcomb)