510th FS F-16 crashed this evening on mountains near Belluno (North of Aviano). The pilot ejected safely. ">
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510th FS F-16 crashes in Italy

September 18, 2007 (by Asif Shamim) - A 510th FS F-16 crashed this evening on mountains near Belluno (North of Aviano). The pilot ejected safely.

USAF F-16C block 40 #88-0529 from the 510th FS seen in better days

The jet, identified as F-16C block 40 #88-0529, was on a routine high-altitude training exercise when it crashed around 6:18pm in a remote area 30 miles northwest of Aviano AFB. Italian carabinieri and emergency response teams, as well as Aviano airbase personnel were at the site.

According to the carabinieri, the F-16 crashed in a woodland a short distance from Soramaè, in Val di Zoldo, Belluno province. No one on the ground was wounded in the accident.

The pilot, Maj. Timothy Palmer, assigned to the 510th ejected safely and was at a hospital, the statement said from the US Air Force. He is in good health pending further evaluation.

A board of inquiry will investigate the cause of the crash.

Aviano Air Base is a United States Air Force base in northeastern Italy, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Alps, about 15 kilometers from Pordenone.

The host wing is the 31st Fighter Wing, which includes two F-16 fighter squadrons, an operations group, a maintenance directorate, a mission support group, and a medical group.

Aviano's current mission is to conduct regional and expeditionary operations under NATO, SACEUR or national tasking.


Additional images:

USAF F-16C block 40 #88-0529 from the 510th FS is taxiing by at Konya AB during exercise Anatolian Eagle held there in June of 2006. [Photo by Emin Fýndýklý]