Commander Jay Bynum, eating lunch with other pilots in the officers' wardroom, told AFP things were "touchy." He and others declined to comment further.

One pilot offered words of support for a colleague waiting to grab a drink.

"How'd it go last night?" he asked.

The other airman, downcast, shook his head.

Kitty Hawk's commanding officer, Captain Thomas Parker, said there is "a sense of solemnity" aboard this ship as search and rescue efforts continued more than 12 hours after the unnamed pilot was reported missing shortly before midnight Wednesday.

"He was on a strike mission over Iraq," Parker said.

Other aircraft reported seeing surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery in the area where the Hornet disappeared, Lieutenant Brook Dewalt, the ship's public affairs officer, told reporters.

There are three squadrons of F/A-18 Hornet fighter bombers aboard this ship but Dewalt refused to say which one the downed aircraft belonged to.

"Rest assured that our thoughts are with you," Parker said, referring to the squadron in his daily intercom briefing for the crew.

One other Hornet from Kitty Hawk was flying with the missing aircraft before it disappeared, Dewalt said. The second Hornet took charge of directing rescue operations, he said.

While search efforts continued, Kitty Hawk's bombing missions resumed for another day Thursday, uninterrupted by uncertainty over the pilot's fate.

"Everybody understands the job needs to go on," Dewalt said.

Some were not even fully aware of what had happened.

In the ship's hangar bay, an aircraft technician working on the nose cone of another F/A-18 said he hadn't been told anything about the missing jet.

The Hornet went down just hours after two other Kitty Hawk airmen returned to the carrier following their rescue early Wednesday from the desert of southern Iraq.

They ejected from their F-14 Tomcat fighter-bomber after the engines failed. Except for a scratch on one airman's hand, they survived unhurt.

Parker told his crew of more than 5,000 that he hopes today's drama will have a similar happy ending.

"We're hoping for the best," he said. "If you are inclined to do so, it's OK to say a little prayer for the pilot in the hope that we'll find him."

US Central Command said in a statement earlier Thursday, "A US Navy F/A-18C, a single-seat aircraft off of the USS Kitty Hawk, went down at approximately 3:45 p.m. EST today (2045 GMT Wednesday) during ongoing coalition air operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"While the coalition does not discuss the details of ongoing recovery operations, it is committed to fully accounting for all coalition personnel. An investigation is ongoing.

"The name of the pilot is being withheld pending notification of next of kin," the statement added.

A US Army Blackhawk helicopter was also shot down in Iraq Wednesday, but there were conflicting reports between the Pentagon and US Central Command on the number aboard and the number dead.

A Defense Department official said that "preliminary reports say seven were killed" but Centcom would only say that six were people were aboard the troop transporter, adding that "casualties have not been confirmed at this point".

WAR.WIRE