F-16 Aircraft Database

While parked en route to Al Minhad AB for Desert Storm was struck on the tail by a taxiing C-130. The tip of the wing on the C-130 just managed to clip the tip of the tail on the F-16. Damage was heavy enough to put the aircraft out of commission for Desert Storm. When the aircraft returned to flyable status the war was over and the aircraft was assigned to the 34th TFS.

Wingman observed fire coming out of engine during a training sortie. The pilot, Capt. Richard Setzer, was forced to eject. The pilot safely ejected over the Saudi Arabian Peninsula (Abu Dhabi). It was a pre-war loss and wreckage was recovered in attempt to find spare parts, but "none" were usable.

Hit the ground in Hampton County, South Carolina, killing the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Barry Bost.

Destroyed on the Barry M. Goldwater range, Arizona.

Crashed 60 miles northeast of Taegu, South Korea. The pilot ejected safely.

Suffered a structural failure during a flight test (flutter tests) from Eglin AFB, Florida. The test was to assess the structural integrity of the F-16 while carrying a load of 6 AMRAAM's. The aircraft was flying inverted at 2,000 feet above the Gulf of Mexico with an airspeed of Mach 1.2. The pilot noticed a serious problem with the aircraft and rolled it back to level flight, but experienced a very hard time to keep it levelled. The left flaperon was sticking up like a sharp fin in the airflow and rudder was also missing from the aircraft. The pilot, Captain Joseph A. Lanni, gained control of the aircraft and checked its controllability. Captain Lanni brought the aircraft back to Eglin AFB with no further problems, mainly because he was already lined up with the runway and the fact that the chase-plane (F-4) pilot kept telling him to stick with it. The pilot had to keep 25 lbs of constant pressure to the stick to keep the aircraft straight. The aircraft was repaired afterwards. Maintainers believe the rudder imploded from delamination since they never found a piece of it anywhere. The jet tried to kill the same pilot 3 more times after this event - 2 sudden decompressions at altitude and when the right flaperon did the same thing, only this time tore off and smashed into the stabilator. The pilot put it down at Tyndall AB every time.

Collided with F-16A (81-0650, 9313) near Port Said, Egypt.

Collided with F-16A (81-0648, 9311) near Port Said, Egypt