F-16 fighter jet crashes in Ariz.; rescue operation underway
STAR-ADVERTISER / JAN. 2015
A Hawaii Air Guard F-16 lined up to take off at the Reef Runway.
BAGDAD, Ariz. » An F-16 fighter jet from Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix crashed today in a remote area of northwestern Arizona. There was no immediate on pilot’s condition and a search and rescue operation was underway, officials said.
The crash occurred at about 8:45 a.m. in rugged terrain near Bagdad in Yavapai County, Luke officials said. The area is sparsely populated.
Base officials said the jet was assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke. Luke is a major pilot-training base for the Air Force and foreign military services.
The cause of the crash wasn’t known, and the wing’s commander established an interim safety board to conduct a preliminary investigation, Luke officials said.
Bagdad is about 85 miles northwest of the base located in suburban Glendale.
Several civilian agencies sent aircraft and personnel in response to word of the crash.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office sent a helicopter to look for the crash site, while the Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Quentin Mehr sent troopers, a rescue helicopter and explosive ordinance and hazardous material teams, spokesmen said.
Recent previous crashes involving F-16s from Luke included one on a training mission in southern New Mexico. That pilot ejected safely.
So did an instructor pilot and a student pilot in June 2013 after their two-seat F-16 hit several birds during takeoff from Luke. The jet crashed in a farm field.
An Air Force investigation report said the instructor pilot was at fault because he made a rapid climbing turn after the bird strike, robbing the plane of airspeed and the ability to recover and return to the base.
6 responses to “F-16 fighter jet crashes in Ariz.; rescue operation underway”
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Arizona? Perfect place to crash a plane with no mountains to go into.
There are a lot of mountains in Arizona. the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is over 8000 Ft. and the S.Rim is around 5000 Ft. If this jet did go down in Bagdad the elevation is over 3000 Ft.
I hope that everyone is alright. That way, we can all have a Arizona Tea afterwards.
Caption on the photo: “A Hawaii Air Guard F-16 lined up to take off at the Reef Runway.” Looks to me that it’s sitting on the tarmac with it’s intake covers on and an airman sitting on its tire. Not taking off that way.
not to mention the fact that the Hawaii Air Guard doesn’t fly the F-16. AK on the tail & 354FW. I’m pretty darn sure that mean 354th Fighter Wing out of Alaksa
correct, also the crash reported in “”BAGDAD”. how ironic.