F-16 Reference

F-16 Aircraft Database

F-16 Accidents & Mishaps for the United States Air Force

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Found 523 aircraft, displaying 241- 255 [Sorted by Date]
Date Status Local S/N Aircraft AF/Unit Version Info Details
07 Nov 2014 [ w/o] 85502 85- 1502 USAF 82 ATRS F-16C Block 30 B News Article Details
Aircraft had not completed modifications to QF-16. The aircraft hit the water of the Gulf of Mexico roughly 74 miles south of Tyndall AFB at 8:34 local time during a routine missions. The pilot, Lt.Col. Matthew J. LaCourse, was unfortunately killed in the mishap. The cause was determined at spatial disorientation suffered by the pilot.
20 Sep 1990 [ w/o] 85510 85- 1510 USAF 314 TFTS F-16D Block 25 F Details
Destroyed on the Barry M. Goldwater range, Arizona, 10 miles east of Gila Bend at 13:37 hours.Both pilots, Captain James Jones and Lt. Col. Jon Wegner, ejected safely.
27 Aug 1987 [ w/o] 85517 85- 1517 USAF 526 TFS F-16D Block 30 A Details
Hit the ground near Metz, France shortly after the two man crew ejected.
07 Jun 1996 [ w/o] 85545 85- 1545 USAF 174 FS F-16C Block 30 B Details
Crashed near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Aircraft was from the Iowa ANG. The aircraft suffered a fan blade failure causing the engine to halt. The pilot, Colonel Ronald Dardis, ejected safely.
15 Aug 2015 [ sto] 85546 85- 1546 USAF 457 FS F-16C Block 30 B Details
Collided with #85-1549 shortly after landing at Nellis AFB around 11:20h local. The mishap was caused by pilot error of both landing aircraft. The aircraft didn't vacate the runway in a correct manner with the other aircraft coming in too hard and landing long on the runway without applying proper braking and aerobrake procedures caused this mishap. The pilot escaped unhurt. Total repair cost is estimated at $ 5.4 million, still pening whether it will be performed.
15 Aug 2015 [ w/o] 85549 85- 1549 USAF 457 FS F-16C Block 30 B Details
Collided with #85-1546 shortly after landing at Nellis AFB around 11:20h local. The mishap was caused by pilot error of both landing aircraft. The aircraft came in too hard and landed long on the runway without applying proper braking and aerobrake procedures. This in combination with the other aircraft not vacating the runway in the right manner caused this mishap. The pilot suffered life threatening injuries. The airframe was considered a complete write-off due to extensive fire damage.
13 May 1998 [ w/o] 85550 85- 1550 USAF 174 FS F-16C Block 30 B News Article Details
Crashed at 10:30 hours seven miles south of Ainsworth, Nebraska near Johnston. The aircraft was on a two ship training mission from its home base Sioux City, Iowa. Cause of the crash was due to the F-16 flying through a flock of birds. A minimum of five American White Pelicans struck the aircraft. Damage to the structure, windscreen and ingestion into the engine brought the aircraft down onto hilly grasslands. The pilot, Lt. Col. Lundquist, ejected but was injured hitting the birds during the ejection.
17 May 2004 [ w/o] 85555 85- 1555 USAF 113 FS F-16C Block 30 B News Article Details
Collided in midair over Oaktown in southwestern Indiana at about 1:40pm with F-16C (86-0260) destroying both aircraft. Both aircraft were from the 113th FS. Pilot, Maj. William E. Burchett, didn't survive the accident. Whitnesses said his parachute did not open fully, but he was killed at impact, ejection seat fired by itself. The other pilot, Maj. Thomas R. Sims, parachuted to safety. He was taken by ambulance to a Hospital.
Nov 1989 [ act] 85557 85- 1557 USAF 14 TFS F-16C Block 30 B Details
Was restored to flyable status but suffered a blow out of the tail section due to a fire during a Cope Thunder exercise. The pilot - Lt. Rob Ray - dead-stick landed it. It took 8 months to repair. Rumors were the aft section of a previously damaged block 40 was used to replace the tail of this aircraft. It was later unofficially labeled a block 35.
06 Nov 1997 [ w/o] 85564 85- 1564 USAF 457 FS F-16C Block 30 B News Article Details
The aircraft crashed practicing basic fighter maneuvers. The F-16 hit the ground near Sidney, Texas at about 13:15 hours. It was 75 miles west-southwest of it home base at NAS Fort Worth. The Air Force Reservist pilot, Col Thomas A Dyches, ejected safely. The pilot experienced the aircraft departing controlled flight due to a high AOA low speed manouvre. He could not reach the MPO switch to override the aircraft's computer in order to overcome the aircraft's departing controlled flight.
30 Jan 2001 [ act] 85572 85- 1572 USAF 149 FS F-16D Block 30 B Details
Collided with F-16C (86-0228) at 18:45 hours with night vision goggles over Cape Charles, Virginia. F-16C (86-0228) passed this F-16 and the top of the fins on the AiM-9's cut across the fuselage all the way up to bulkhead 243 which is just behind the canopy. They were able to land safely at Langley AFB, Virginia. The D-model gave up its wing for the C-model which once wing replaced flew home. The D-model left Langley AFB on a truck to Hill AFB, Utah. Repair work was carried out at Ogden ALC by the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron. Cost to repair was $1.2 million, 26000 work hours and over a 2 year period. Aircraft was delivered back to the 149th FS by March 31st, 2004.
12 Sep 1998 [ w/o] 86040 86- 0040 USAF 302 FS F-16D Block 32 C News Article Details
Crashed onto the Avon Park Range about 50 miles south of Orlando, Florida. The aircraft was in a four ship formation on a gunnery training mission from Homestead Air Reserve Station. The pilot, Capt. Thomas M. Carr, was killed in the mishap, and no one was in the backseat. Cause of the crash was human error, with improper distance with the other aircraft in the formation. Aircraft was on loan to the 93rd FS at the time of loss.
19 Mar 1997 [ act] 86040 86- 0040 USAF 302 FS F-16D Block 32 C AIB Report Details
Collided with #86-0257 and suffered only minor damage to tail and some turkey feathers and was easily repaired. Unfortunately 86-0257 was written-off. At the time this aircraft was on loan to the 93rd FS. The flight was a photoflight with 86-0040 passing underneath another three-ship. The pilot lost visual contact for a brief period in which he scraped 86-0257 which lost its radome and radar pitching up and not being able to recover. The pilot, Maj. Daley, ejected safely.
17 Jul 1991 [ w/o] 86045 86- 0045 USAF 35 TFS F-16D Block 30 D Details
Hit the ground near Bangojin, South Korea. The crash occurred during an incentive flight with a crew chief. The pilot selected afterburner to start a mach run, but shortly after selecting full afterburner the crew heard a loud bang followed by a decrease in engine RPM. The pilot cleaned the wings by ejecting all external stores. Not long after that, engine RPM's dropped to zero and the aircraft soon became a two-seat glider. The pilot was able to guide the jet over water with the assist of the EPU and both the pilot and crew chief successfully ejected at 2,200 feet and were rescued by helicopter. This accident stopped the incentive flight program at Kunsan for a while.
27 Sep 1993 [ act] 86212 86- 0212 USAF 302 FS F-16C Block 32 C AIB Report Details
The aircraft collided with F-16 (#86-0253) over Gila Bend, Arizona during BFM manouvering. The aircraft was extremely damaged with the right wing being bent 90° upwards. The pilot managed to keep control of the aircraft and land it at Gila Bend with a slightly faster landing speed to keep control of the F-16.

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Abbreviations and symbols:
[act] Active [i/a] Instructional Airframe [sto] Stored (e.g. at AMARG)
[cld] Cancelled Order [msh] Involved in Mishap [w/o] Write-off
[con] Converted [o/o] On Order
[des] Destroyed (drone) [pre] Preserved (museum, gateguard) T/V LM Aero Type/Version (Construction) number
[emb] Embargoed [scr] Scrapped Photo Available
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Errors and Omissions

Mar 04, 2022 - 09:51 AM
F-16 CRASH

I couldn't find the Edwards AFB crash of 2001 in this list. I was trying to find what tail number it was.


Mar 04, 2024 - 06:45 AM
Jan 82

Some time in the 80s a f16 landing at nellis missed the the arresting Hook and went thru the barrier at end of runway and came to rest in 3 pieces on the golf course

Pilot was cut out of cockpit and walked away





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