Forum: F-16 News

Is it possible the pilot was an Army or Marine exchange pilot, or even an Iraqi exchange pilot from the reorganized Iraqi Air Force borrowing one of our planes? You guys know more than I do, I have no idea it's just a thought.

USAF F-16 CRASH INVESTIGATION BEGINS

11/28/2006

SOUTHWEST ASIA — The interim safety investigation board convened by U.S. Central Command Air Forces has begun its efforts to gather evidence to determine what caused a United States Air Force F-16C to crash approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad at about 1:35 p.m. Monday.

The single-seat jet was in direct support of extensive coalition ground combat operations when it crashed in an uninhabited field.

Coalition reconnaissance assets and fighter aircraft were overhead when the crash occurred and confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash.

Ground forces secured the crash scene Monday as soon as the extensive ground combat operations in the area had ceased. The primary concerns of USCENTAF in responding to this incident have been the safety of Coalition forces and the recovery of the pilot. The pilot was not found at the crash site and his status cannot be confirmed at this time. The investigation board has collected DNA samples from the crash site and will release results upon completion of testing.

The F-16 was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, Iraq. The accident investigation convening authority is Air Combat Command.

Sources:
http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1 ... ses%2Easpx
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123032925

[...] In Iraq, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and an Air Force MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle conducted strikes against anti-Iraqi forces near Baghdad. The F-16s expended guided bomb unit-12s and cannon rounds and the Predator expended a Hellfire missile on enemy targets.

In total, coalition aircraft flew 36 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.

Additionally, 15 Air Force, Navy, RAF and Royal Australian Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. Air Force fighter aircraft performed in non-traditional ISR roles with their electro-optical and infrared sensors. [...]

Source:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123032926

I just came back from Balad last month and was on the beginning end of this AEF. There are certain individuals" VIP's" on the base that fly with both Cannon in the south AMU and the Tiger AMU in the north. The other F-16 unit there now is the 114th dawgs from South Dakota. There is a mix of jets from Selfridge,DC,New York and the dawgs.

I wonder if the person that was filmed in the wreckage was not a pilot, what if some local was placed at the scene like it was the pilot (far fetched I know) but these days, these clowns will resort to any lengths to piss off the US and her Allies....maybe he is not dead....I know, I know but during WWII...stunts like this were pulled all the time, I hope he or she did survive but again, it is wishful thinking on my part.

I want to tell you a story of a little boy that grew up to be a hero. From the time he could say the word airplane, this little boy wanted to fly. More specifically this little boy wanted to fly for the U.S. Air Force. I can remember as a very small child (I was not much older myself) this little boy’s passion for airplanes. He built models (with his dad’s help at that age!) of every plane flown by US forces. As this little boy got older his passion became deeper. Oh sure he had all the usual distractions of a growing boy like cars, girls, partying (I especially know the partying part….you see I got him in to a lot of trouble in that area!), but this little boy never forgot his first passion…….flying!! This little boy finally went off to college. It was always wondered by those of us in the know if this little boy would ever fulfill his dream. I do not believe it was ever in doubt to him though. In college this little boy met a little girl. That meeting blossomed into a romance and upon graduation that romance became a marriage. Not even that life changing event deterred this little boy from his dream. Immediately after marriage this little boy applied for Officer’s Candidate School and was accepted. Off to the Air Force he went. To no one’s surprise the little boy excelled. Suddenly the little boy was not just a little boy any longer, but a real bona-fide USAF officer. Some might say this was the beginning of this little boy’s dream, but as you can tell his dream started at a much earlier age!! This little boy served his country in several post when he became an officer, and I have to admit we were all extremely proud of him. But just simply being an officer was never going to be enough. This little boy next applied to flight school. Needless to say he excelled. Before long this little boy became a true Fighter Pilot and the fulfillment of a life dream had begun. We all watched as he excelled in his new duty and his life dream. I am sorry to say that he never new (because I failed to tell him) that every time he took off, I was right there beside him living vicariously thru him. Most importantly this little boy managed to stay very grounded in his faith and in his family. Once again I failed to ever tell him how proud I was of him for the example he set for all of us.

We were all anxious when the Iraq war began. This little boy was now stationed near the front lines, but as fate would have it his unit was not able to participate in those long weeks of action. This little boy came home safe and sound to a tour of duty here in the states. Fate has a tricky way of working though and this year the little boy got his opportunity to fly in Iraq. We were all filled with excitement and trepidation at hearing of his new tour, but we all understood that this was part of his dream.

This little boy is my cousin and that dream came to an end yesterday. It was reported yesterday that an F-16 went down in Iraq. What was not reported was the pilot’s name or his disposition and I will not reveal it here out of respect for my family. The reasons are unknown and his fate is yet unknown. Today our family waits and prays for answers, but I know if that little boy were standing here with us he would remind us to look to god and rely on our own faith.

Regardless of the final outcome of this situation I know in my heart that he was fulfilling his dream. If he is gone, then he went out doing what he loved best for the country he loved. Nothing more can be asked of a little boy who in my mind has become a hero.

BAGHDAD, Nov 28 (Reuters) - U.S. forces hunted for the body of an F-16 pilot who was killed on Monday when his warplane came down in a Sunni insurgent stronghold northwest of Baghdad.

The body of the pilot, who has not yet been identified, disappeared from the crash site before an American armoured column arrived on the scene and sealed off the area.

Film taken by a local journalist shortly after the crash showed the bloodied and clearly dead body of what appeared to be a man in a flight suit wearing a parachute harness lying in a field strewn with the wreckage of the plane.

But the military said a rescue team did not find the body: "The pilot was not there when our forces arrived. At this time we do not have him," U.S. Air Force Captain Nathan Broshear told Reuters, adding that he could not confirm the pilot was dead.,

The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that fighter aircraft had spotted insurgents in the area of the crash site immediately after the warplane came down about 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad in the volatile Falluja area, where the anti-American Sunni insurgency is strong.

"The single-seat jet was in direct support of extensive Coalition ground combat operations when it crashed in an uninhabited field," it said.

An interim safety investigation board has been convened to determine the cause of the crash and DNA samples collected from the crash site.

The local journalist who shot film of the crash site said he saw no insurgents in the 15 minutes he was there, only curious residents who came to inspect the wreckage.

U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad there was "no indication suggesting the plane was shot down".

Two Iraqi militant groups claimed to have downed a U.S. F16 in retaliation for what they said was the U.S. army's killing of tens of Iraqis, Al Jazeera television said on Tuesday.

The television said it was quoting a joint statement from the Mujahideen Army and the Mujahideen Shura Council, in which they claimed the attack.

While helicopter crashes in Iraq are not uncommon, it is rare for a fixed-wing aircraft to come down.

Officials: Pilot Of Downed F-16 Still Missing In Iraq
Tue, 28 Nov '06

Fighter Was Strafing Insurgents
The whereabouts and condition of a US Air Force pilot whose F-16 crashed outside Baghdad Monday are still unknown, according to military sources.

The F-16CG fighter, flying for the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing out of Balad Air Base, crashed Monday afternoon approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, in an area near Fallujah officials say was teeming with insurgent activity. The plane was engaged in low-level strafing runs to support troops on the ground when it went down for as-yet unknown reasons.

The Air Force has convened an investigative board to look into the crash. Officials would not comment on the possibility the fighter was shot down. The unnamed pilot has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, at a Tuesday news conference in Baghdad.

"Coalition reconnaissance assets and fighter aircraft were overhead when the crash occurred and confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash," the statement said. "Ground forces secured the crash scene Monday, as soon as the combat operations in the area ceased."

Video shown on the middle-eastern television network Al-Jazeera purportedly shows smoldering wreckage of the aircraft, including shots of the fighter's tail that identifies the aircraft as AF900776, assigned to the 524th Fighter Squadron.

Responders found the single-place F-16's ejection seat, but it wasn't possible to determine if the pilot had used the seat or not -- contrary to reports from witnesses in the area that the pilot died after ejecting from the plane.

November 28, 2006 7:21 p.m. EST


Matthew Borghese - All Headline News Staff Writer
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The U.S. Air Force has ordered an investigative board to look into the crash of an F-16 over Iraq yesterday.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, in a Baghdad Interview, says the missing F-16CG pilot is officially listed as "duty status: whereabouts unknown," until the military can gather more information.

Currently, the U.S. says the single-seat fighter crashed about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad around 1:35 p.m., local time, and "while the cause of the crash is unknown, there is nothing to suggest that insurgents shot down the aircraft."

However, Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Hoog, air component coordination element director for Multinational Force Iraq, confirms the plane was carrying out a "troops in contact" operation.

Furthermore, according to the Pentagon, immediately after the crash, other aircraft and surveillance assets were over the site, the general said. General Hoog says, "Those assets did observe insurgents in the vicinity of the crash site."

The fighter jet was part of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, flying out of Balad Air Base.