F-16 Fighting Falcon News

June 23, 2017 (by Lieven Dewitte) - A USAF Thunderbirds F-16 has been involved with a mishap while on location in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft involved was supposedly one of the team's block 52 F-16Ds which are used for media flights, camera ships, and as spares/stand-ins for the team's six-ship demonstration.
It seems that when the aircraft landed a gust of wind turned it over off the airport's movement areas. The weather was supposedly very poor at the time of the incident with local. Rainfall rates in the vicinity exceeding two inches per hour. Strong winds were also said to be present at the time of the crash.

There seems to have been a pilot and someone else on board at the time of the crash, and reports are conflicting at this time as to their condition and whether or not they are trapped inside the aircraft or not. There is no reports of any deaths at this time thankfully.

The crash comes just over a year after another Thunderbird F-16C crashed just before landing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and less than two days after another F-16 crashed during takeoff from Ellington Field in Texas. Both incidents saw the pilot safely eject, and the case of the Ellington Field incident, the F-16C block 42 remained almost totally intact sitting off the runway. The jet was fully armed at the time for the air sovereignty mission and the airport had to be evacuated due to concerns over the weaponry.

Live Coverage: https://www.facebook.com/whionews/videos/1609719572392934/