A United States Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed near Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, on October 29, 2019. The aircraft was on a training flight, the pilot ejected successfully. It is the second crash of a USAF F-16 in less than a month.
The aircraft was assigned to the 49th Fighter Wing stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, from where it took off. The crash happened approximately 80 miles (130 kilometers) south-west from the base, according to a statement released by the Wing public office. The F-16 was destroyed.
Statement from Holloman AFB about the F-16 crash from last night, pilot ejected and is being treated at a local hospital. No additional details pic.twitter.com/xJCheIsiv3
— Brian Everstine (@beverstine) October 30, 2019
Emergency response teams arrived at the scene and the pilot, who had successfully ejected, was transported to a hospital. The incident will be investigated by a board of officers, which will attempt to determine the cause of the crash.
Earlier this month, another USAF F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight near Zemmer, close to the German border with Luxembourg, on October 8, 2019. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered with minor injuries. The aircraft was part of the 480th Fighter Squadron, also known as the “Warhawks”, attached to the 52nd Fighter Wing based in Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
On September 19, 2019, a Belgian Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed near Pluvigner, western France. The falling aircraft damaged a house, its occupants were evacuated. The two pilots managed to eject, but one of them had to be recovered from a high-voltage line after his parachute got caught in the cables.