F-16 Aircraft Database

Impacted the ground by Lake Okeechobee near Avon Park range. The pilot, Lt. Mark Pugh ejected safely. It was being flown on a surface attack/tactics mission and he was number four in the formation. While egressing the target area at 515 knots his canopy struck an approximately 8-pound turkey buzzard directly in front of the HUD. The bird's remains penetrated the canopy (this was the first USAF penetration of an F-16 canopy) and hit Pugsly in the chest knocking his left hand onto the ejection handle and his right arm off the sidestick back against the bulkhead. He could only see a small gap near his left hand on the ejection handle which seemed like a good idea so he ejected. The airplane continued and crashed off-range killing a cow. Pugsly's injuries were confined to bruises and lacerations from the canopy plexiglass. He flew again in several weeks and continued as an F-16 LANTIRN and F-15E RTU Instructor Pilot.