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 256- 270 [Sorted by Date]
Date Status Local S/N Aircraft AF/Unit Version Info Details
20 Feb 1988 [ w/o] 86213 86- 0213 USAF 302 TFS F-16C Block 32 C Details
Destroyed on the Barry M. Goldwater range, Arizona. Major Willy Kempe was killed in this accident.
03 Dec 1993 [ act] 86222 86- 0222 USAF 149 FS F-16C Block 30 C Details
Belly landed Byrd IAP, Richmond, Virginia, but damage was said to be repairable. Said to have accidentally landed on its centre line fuel tank. It was being flown by the Virginia ANG at the time of the mishap. The aircraft was in depot at Ogden ALC, Utah where it was repaired and returned for service with the 149th FS in 1998.
26 Jul 2001 [ w/o] 86226 86- 0226 USAF 113 FS F-16C Block 30 C Details
Crashed near Parkersburg, Illinois at 14:40 hours. The pilot, Major Patrick Wade, ejected safely. Cause of the crash was that the no. 4 bearing seased.
30 Jan 2001 [ act] 86228 86- 0228 USAF 149 FS F-16C Block 30 C Details
Collided with F-16D (#85-1572), but both had landed safely at Langley AFB, Virginia. They were flying at 18:45 hours with night vision goggles over Cape Charles, Virginia when they hit. A wing was taken from the D-model and attached to the C-model so that it could fly home safely. The D-model was taken from Langley AFB by truck to Hill AFB, Utah where it was repaired over the next two years.
26 Dec 2000 [ i/a] 86242 86- 0242 USAF 149 FS F-16C Block 30 C Details
Was returning to land from a Functional Check Flight. The gear was lowered but on contact with the ground had an uncommanded gear retraction. The aircraft belly landed on its gear doors but there was also damage to the ventral fins, tail hook, block structural supports and to the airframe itself. The belly was severely damaged including damage to bulkheads 243.00 and 279.00. The pilot stayed with the aircraft and was uninjured. It was sent to Ogden ALC with the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron for work at major depot level repaire. F-16N #163571 (#86-1689) has been split in half at bulkhead 243.00 to replace the front of #86-0242. The aft end of the F-16N has been used to rebuild #85-1444. Aircraft still in 149th FS markings.
26 Jun 1988 [ w/o] 86247 86- 0247 USAF 23 TFS F-16C Block 30 C Details
Crashed near Merxzell-Burbach, Germany. It was the third crash in one day on German soil, and it stopped low level flying in that country from December onwards. The pilot, Captain Jack Friedman, ejected safely. The cause was determined as a failure of the no. 5 engine bearing. The aircraft was temporarily stationed at Baden-Baden AFB.
10 Aug 1993 [ w/o] 86250 86- 0250 USAF 414 CTS F-16C Block 32 C Details
Wore the Su-27 colour scheme and numbered '50' at the time of the mishap. The pilot, Captain James Reynolds, did not survive this crash. After performing an F-15 engagement he put his airfraft in a 90° nose down flight, starting recovery too late. He probably misjudged the altitude he was at and the F-16 hit the ground recovering with the pilot not ejecting.
27 Sep 1993 [ w/o] 86253 86- 0253 USAF 302 FS F-16C Block 32 C Details
Collided at Gila Bend, Arizona at 12:29 hours with an F-16 (#86-0212) which landed safely. During BFM both aircraft rejoined each other and hit. The pilot, Major James Leslie, ejected safely.
19 Mar 1997 [ w/o] 86257 86- 0257 USAF 93 FS F-16C Block 32 C Details
Collided with F-16D #86-0040 from the same squadron over the Gulf of Mexico. Five F-16's were in an air-to-air photo session. The F-16D was passing under three F-16C's when it hit one of the aircraft. The F-16C lost its entire nose and could not regain control. The pilot was forced to eject. The pilot, Major Dennis Daley, ejected from the aircraft at 11:45 hours. Twenty minutes later a United States Coast Guard helicopter picked him up unharmed near Key West, Florida. The aircraft was from Homestead AFB, Florida and marked '482 OG'.
17 May 2004 [ w/o] 86260 86- 0260 USAF 113 FS F-16C Block 30 C News Article Details
Collided in midair with F-16C (#85-1555) over Oaktown, Indiana destroying both aircraft.
17 Nov 1999 [ act] 86263 86- 0263 USAF 170 FS F-16C Block 30 D AIB Report Details
Collided with F-16C (87-0240), near the town of Vermont, Illinois about eighty kilometres north of their base. One pilot landed the aircraft while the other was forced to eject. Cause is believed to have been from one of the pilots losing situational awareness. The mishap occurred as the upgrading pilot performed an air-to-air intercept on the instructor who was acting as a target and flying slow speed with lights out. A high to low intercept was flown by the upgrading pilot and he did not achieve sufficient lateral displacement for his Vc (overtaking velocity). He rolled out behind the target at 500 feet and 180 knots of overtake. An evasive maneuver was initiated at 200 feet and less than 1 second prior to impact. The right wing impacted and severed the target aircraft's left horizontal tail and severely damaged the corresponding hydraulic integrated servoacuator. The aircraft then experienced total hydraulic failure and went out of control. The instructor pilot ejected safely and the upgrading pilot flew his damaged aircraft to base.
09 Oct 2005 [ i/a] 86264 86- 0264 USAF 93 FS F-16C Block 30 D News Article Details
Ran off the runway at Balad AB. Aircraft was dissassembled and returned to Homestead, Florida in crates and aboard a 40 foot flatbed trailer. The depot team from Hill AFB repaired the structural damage.
11 Aug 1999 [ act] 86266 86- 0266 USAF 35 FS F-16C Block 30 D Details
Collided with F-16C (88-0403) and crashed at Kunsan AFB, South Korea. After the pilot, Major Mark Moore, ejected, the aircraft slided down on the runway with the gear torn off but was thought to have been a complete write-off. The aircraft received a landing clearance, while the other was taking off at the same time. The pilot of 88-0403 was able to land his plane with some damage to the left leading edge flap of the wing between stations no. 1 & 2 .
11 Jun 2007 [ i/a] 86269 86- 0269 USAF 64 AGRS F-16C Block 32 D News Article Details
During a Red Flag Alaska exercise this aircraft collided with 71st FS F-15C 83-0017. The Eagle crashed, but the F-16, piloted by Maj. Brett R. Paola, landed safely at Eielson AFB with some minor damage.
14 Feb 1989 [ w/o] 86274 86- 0274 USAF 35 TFS F-16C Block 30 D Details
Crashed in Crow Valley, Philippines at 8:16 hours with the pilot, 1st Lieutenant Josh Levin, not surviving the crash. Cause was spatial disorientation.

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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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