F-16 Aircraft Database

Crashed in Tysfjord, Norway after it hit and cut two out of three power cables crossing the fjord. The two power cables that were hit were properly marked, while the remaining third power cable was unmarked. The aircraft was part of a flight of three RNoAF F-16s, but was lower and in front of his formation when it hit the power cables. A power cable hit just above the pitot tube, scraping up the radome and cutting of the canopy, the HUD and the top 50cm of the rudder. Needles to say, with the high position of the pilot, he was killed instantly. The plane continued forward in slight descending angle, hitting the tip of a perpendicular aligned mountain ridge spreading debris out between 2 and 5 km, with a lot ending up in the fjord. There where eye witnesses to the incident in a nearby village. During the next 3 days over 1 meter (3.5 feet) of snow fell in the area. Although the pilot was found and identified, the snow made it impossible to find more than just a few bits of the plane. It was spring before the area could be searched properly. It was later determined that the pilot was looking out to the side when his plane hit the power cables, so he never knew what happened. The crash was considered a pilot error. The pilot apparently had less than a week left of his mandatory service and had a job as an airline pilot lined up