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 466- 480 [Sorted by Date]
Date Status Local S/N Aircraft AF/Unit Version Info Details
24 Jul 1998 [ w/o] 90804 90- 0804 USAF 14 FS F-16C Block 50 News Article Details
Unable to become airborne at 09:05 hours, the aircraft ran into the localiser antenna array at the east end of Misawa AB's runway. The pilot, First Lieutenant Brice Simpson ejected, but landed in the flaming wreckage of the air plane, suffering serious burns. On September 17, the pilot died due to his injuries at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The aircraft was based in Japan. The pilot aborted takeoff, but was unaware of the SAFE-BAR system which could have been deployed and caught by an aircraft's dropped tail hook. It was never known why the pilot aborted the takeoff.
08 Aug 2000 [ act] 90809 90- 0809 USAF 422 TES F-16C Block 52 A AIB Report Details
Mid-air collision with another F-16C (88-0542) from the same squadron. The aircraft, piloted by Major Brandon Sweat, landed safely with minor damage. It was about 17:00 hours near Morman Mesa, which is 50 miles northeast of Nellis. The aircraft were part of a four ship formation. The aircraft was repaired and first noticed in service by August 2001 at Nellis AFB as a detachment from Eglin AFB.
Jun 2005 [ act] 90809 90- 0809 USAF 422 TES F-16C Block 52 A Details
Chalks wash out on F-16C #90-0809 during storm and the aircraft rolled into F-16C #91-0374 causing wing tip missile to puncture 374 right under nose.
13 Nov 2000 [ w/o] 90811 90- 0811 USAF 14 FS F-16C Block 50 A Details
Collided in mid-air with F-16C (90-0801) over the Sea of Japan. Colonel Michael Lepper ejected and was rescued by Japanese forces in an UH-60. He was the commanding officer of the 35th Operations Group. Piloting the other F-16 was Captain Warren B. Sneed who could not be found and is presumed dead. No ejection was seen from this aircraft. Both aircraft were participating in Keen Sword exercise. All Misawa based F-16's were grounded till November 16th.
25 Oct 1994 [ w/o] 90814 90- 0814 USAF 4 FS F-16C Block 50 B Details
Captain Miguel F. Torrealday ejected safely near Wendover, Utah at 9:59 hours after suffering an engine flame-out at low altitude.
06 Jul 2001 [ w/o] 90815 90- 0815 USAF 77 FS F-16C Block 50 B Details
Impacted the Atlantic Ocean at 10:40 hours about 40 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina. Pilot, Captain Mitchell Bulmann, was sadly killed. The aircraft was on a air-to-air training mission. Cause is believed to be G-LOC.
02 Feb 1994 [ w/o] 90823 90- 0823 USAF 309 FS F-16C Block 50 B Details
Went down near Gatlinburg, Tennessee with the pilot, Captain Michael A. MacWilliam, ejecting safely. He suffered an engine failure during a DACT training.
22 Nov 2005 [ act] 90824 90- 0824 USAF 14 FS F-16C Block 50 B Details
This aircraft made an emergency landing Ninoy Aquino Manila International AP, Philippines due to hydraulic problems. Aircraft was on a return leg from Cope India 05 and was not damaged. Volunteers had to be recruited to push the aircraft to it's parkings space on the ramp as the aircraft lost power after landing. A US Air Force C-130 aircraft arrived Thursday 08 Dec at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 to deliver a new engine for the F-16. It was initially reported that the jet lost its hydraulics and emergency brakes en route to the Misawa Air Base in Japan. Inspection of the jet, piloted by Capt. Justin Dupuis, showed that its engine had to be replaced.
24 May 1993 [ w/o] 90832 90- 0832 F-16C Block 50 B Details
First pre-delivery crash (company acceptance flight). The pilot attempted a split-S at 2,100 feet and was forced to eject at only 680 ft with his nose 40° low. The pilot (LMTAS senior experimental test pilot), Joe Bill Dryden, was killed. The aircraft crashed 20 miles west of Fort Worth near Mineral Wells, Texas. Bill was unable to separate from the ejection seat before impacting.
03 Apr 2001 [ w/o] 90837 90- 0837 USAF 14 FS F-16D Block 50 A Details
Went down over the Pacific Ocean 12 miles northwest of Misawa, Japan. Pilot, First Lieutenant Mark Hadley, ejected and was rescued by a Japanese military HH-60 after 35 minutes of being in the ater. Cause of the crash was FOD to the engine. This caused a blade from the third stage compressor to come loose which punctured the engine's compressor section. Pilot as a result was unable to re-light the engine. The aircraft was from the 14th FS but the pilot belonged to the 13th FS. In May, 80% of the wreckage was recovered, including the engine. A US Navy diver Seaman Matthew Draughon was killed on May 5th, 2001 during the recovery of debris.
13 Jan 1995 [ w/o] 90849 90- 0849 USAF 22 FS F-16D Block 50 B Details
Crashed near Durbuy (impacted in a sand trap on the Five Nations Golf Course), Belgium while on a routine training mission from Spangdahlem. The two man crew, Capt. Tom Smith and SrA.Jason Fowler, ejected safely. Backseater was an inlisted on an incentive ride. The crashed caused the grounding of all F110-GE-129 powered block 50 aircraft on the fourth day after, January 17th. A three hour inspection of the fan blades on each aircraft were performed because of the engine having defaulted on that. Some aircraft were flyable the same day, while others over the next few days. This mishap was the third in a row in five months.
May 2018 [ act] 91336 91- 0336 USAF 179 FS F-16C Block 50 B Details
Damaged when deployed to Al Jaber AB. A heavy sandstorm with 91-mile per hour winds overturned some sunshelter structures who came down on the aircraft.
14 Sep 2006 [ w/o] 91337 91- 0337 USAF 22 FS F-16C Block 50 B News Article Details
The aircraft suffered a landing gear failure near Spangdahlem AB after hitting an antenna during a landing attempt. It ran out of fuel before the problem could be fixed and the pilot, 1st Lieutenant Trevor Merrell, executed a controlled bailout. The accident was caused by a visual illusion at Spangdahlem AB. The runway has an upslope, making the pilot think he is coming in too high, forcing him to take a lower approach, with all consequences.
May 2018 [ act] 91339 91- 0339 USAF 179 FS F-16C Block 50 C Details
Damaged when deployed to Al Jaber AB. A heavy sandstorm with 91-mile per hour winds overturned some sunshelter structures who came down on the aircraft.
08 Oct 2019 [ w/o] 91340 91- 0340 USAF 480 FS F-16C Block 50 C News Article Details
The aircraft crashed at around 3:15pm local time near the town of Zemmer-Rodt. The pilot ejected safely. The cause of the mishap was determined two-fold. The aircraft experienced a partial electrical power loss. Due to the bad weather conditions at the time therefore the pilot could only rely on basic instrumentation with the data between the primary and stand-by instrumentation being flawed with the pilot becoming spatially disorientated.

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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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