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Wisconsin National Guard F-16 jet crashes

June 7, 2011 (by Asif Shamim) - A single-seat F-16 fighter jet from the Wisconsin National Guard, crashed on Tuesday while on a routine training mission in central Wisconsin. The pilot ejected safely, according to a National Guard said statement.

The pilot from the 176th Fighter Squadron of the Wisconsin Air National Guard was recovered in Adams County, Wisconsin, and was checked by medical teams and released with minor injuries, the National Guard said.

The F-16, which crashed into an unoccupied vacation home on Ember Avenue in the town of New Chester around 13:20h local time, was one of two fighter jets which had taken off from Truax Field in Madison for a routine training mission in the vicinity of Volk Field. The aircraft, which were scheduled to return to Madison following the air manoeuvre training, were not carrying any live ammunition.

Emergency teams from Volk Field, the New Chester & Truax Field Fire Departments were called to the scene.

The crash is the first such accident for the 115th Fighter Wing since 1995, which was then identified as a manufacturer's defect.

The National Guard has set up a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the current accident.