Military F-16 jet collides mid-air with private Cessna aircraft
SHAW AFB, S.C., 7 July 2015. An F-16 C Fighting Falcon military aircraft from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, collided with a Cessna 150 private, two-seat, general aviation airplane near Joint Base Charleston at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
The F-16 pilot ejected safely and was taken to Joint Base Charleston for a health assessment. No information is available about the people onboard the Cessna civilian aircraft.
“Our thoughts are with the friends and family of anyone aboard the civilian aircraft,” U.S. Air Force officials at Shaw AFB say.
A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are convening in South Carolina to determine the cause of the crash. “NTSB investigating this morning's mid-air collision between an F-16 military aircraft and a Cessna 150 in Moncks Corner, SC.,” a spokesperson tweeted this morning.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NTSB officials also reported that an F-16 Fighting Falcon flying with the 162nd Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, crashed at about 8 p.m. on 24 June 2015, five miles east of Douglas Municipal Airport, Arizona. That F-16 was on a night training mission with one person on board at the time of the incident.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, lands after a mission during Commando Sling 04-3. U.S. and Singaporean Airmen trained together using realistic dissimilar aircraft air-to-air combat tactics. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis.)
Courtney E. Howard | Chief Editor, Intelligent Aerospace
Courtney enjoys writing about all things high-tech in PennWell’s burgeoning Aerospace and Defense Group, which encompasses Intelligent Aerospace and Military & Aerospace Electronics. She’s also a self-proclaimed social-media maven, mil-aero nerd, and avid avionics and space geek. Connect with Courtney at [email protected], @coho on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on Google+.
