Forum: F-16 News

Please, let's have some constraint and show respect for the down pilot and his/her family and wait for official publication. I know everyone here is praying for the pilots safe recovery and no one means any disrespect. Let's not fall prey to speculation. All this information will come in due time from official sources.

Pilot killed after F-16 crashes

SALT LAKE CITY, June 23 (UPI) -- The family of an U.S. Air Force pilot whose F-16 went down over Utah said Tuesday he is dead, ABC affiliates reported.

The Salt Lake Tribune said ABC 4 in Utah and ABC 13 in North Carolina spoke to the family of Capt. George Bryan Houghton, 28, of Candler, N.C., and they confirmed the death. Officials at Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah declined comment but a news conference was scheduled later Tuesday.

The Air Force pilot was first reported missing Tuesday in the crash of his F-16 fighter during a night training mission in Utah's West Desert.

The Tribune said search crews from Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah had been looking for the pilot after the Monday night crash.

An Air Force statement said the F-16 "was on a routine training mission and is assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB." The cause of the crash was unknown and was to be investigated by military officials.

The statement from Hill AFB said the 388th Range Squadron runs the training area to give pilots "a realistic training environment."

The base's Web site describes the range as "the largest overland safety footprint available in the Department of Defense for air crew and weapons testing," the Tribune reported.

The (Salt Lake City) Deseret News said the terrain of the range resembles Afghanistan and pilots can train by strafing targets.


source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/23/ ... 245781187/

F-16 crash pilot confirmed dead

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The pilot involved in an F-16 crash late Monday night has been confirmed dead.

Wife of 28-year-old Air Force Captain George Bryan Houghton learned of his passing early Tuesday morning. Houghton was on a routine training mission before being deployed to Afghanistan for the first time.

The cause of the crash is still unknown. A representative from Hill Airforce Base says the F-16 was destroyed on impact.

The crash site is about 35 miles south of Wendover near the Utah-Nevada state line.


source: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20 ... rzm7w.cspx

There's been no speculation for anyone to fall prey to. Constraint and respect have been shown. There has been no asking of the circumstances surrounding it or suppositions about the cause. The only thing that has been done is to ask if anyone knows the status of the pilot so we can either breathe a collective sigh of relief or express our sympathies and respects, and to try and find out which aircraft is involved.