News

Failure of a turbine blade caused a 147th FW Ellington ANG F-16C to crash in an unpopulated area near Rosepine, La., Sept. 22, according to a report Air Force officials released today.

According to a final USAF report, pilot fatigue contributed to June 12, Iraq mishap where a USAF F-16 flamed out due to a mistake in fuel management.

A National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon had to make an emergency landing at the South Burlington Airport Monday morning. The jet, belonging to the 134th FS 'Green Mountain Boys', blew a main tire on take-off.

Today, at 18:31 local time, a Turkish F-16C block 40 crashed during a training flight. The F-16 belonged to the 6th AJÜ (Ana Jet Üs), based at Bandirma AB. Pilot Serhat Yildirim ejected safely but suffered some injuries.

Yesterday it was confirmed that the Belgian F-16 accident that led to the death of a pilot was caused by a mid-air collision. The collision between two F-16s happened at 11.30am on Tuesday above the village of Havelange, near Marche-en-Famenne.

Two Belgian F-16s collided in mid-air during a Forward Air Controler exercise, killing one of the pilots. They crashed into the ground in the wooded area of Marche-en-Famenne in the Belgian Ardennes.

Air Force investigators have determined trapped external fuel due to an aircraft malfunction and the pilot's failure to properly monitor his fuel status were the causes of the F-16CG crash in the Iraqi area of responsibility June 12, 2003.

The Norwegian Department of Defense announced today that a Dutch F-16 accidentally dropped a 500lbs (227 kg) bomb during a weapons instructor course in Norway. The bomb did not detonate.

Today, a Turkish F-16C Block 50 from the Fifth Main Jet Base Command at Merzifon AB crashed during a training flight in the north of the country. Fortunately both the pilot and the co-pilot survived the accident.

Air Force officials determined a manufacturing defect of a turbine blade caused an F-16C Block 42 to crash on June 10 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

Bahraini authorities said yesterday that a piece of a missing F-16 has been found floating near Bahrain's north-western shore, more than two weeks after the aircraft disappeared from the radar screens during a night-time training.

A Jordanian air force pilot was killed Sunday when his plane crashed as a result of technical failure. It's not sure though whether it concerns an F-16 or not.

Rumors that a Bahraini pilot defected to Iran are baseless, a top Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday. The same denial was highlighted on the front page of Iran's Al Wifaq newspaper in yesterday's edition.

An F-16 pilot's failure to follow emergency checklist procedures for a failed hydraulic pump caused the F-16CG Fighting Falcon he was taxiing to collide with a parked F-16 at a forward-operating location June 15.

Air Force officials have determined a bird strike caused the crash of an F-16 Fighting Falcon on June 13 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.