A Lockheed Martin F-16 from the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Thunderbirds display team crashed on Tuesday near Trona (TRH) air base in California.
The aircraft involved in the accident was F-16 with serial number 5, one of the official members of the aerobatic squadron.
+ Click here to watch the video
Shortly before the incident, the six aircraft in the team had taken off from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, approximately 250 km east of the accident site, to conduct a training flight.
+ Ukraine may receive Tiger ARH helicopters decommissioned by the Australian Army
The pilot managed to eject in time
Images shared on social media and by observers in the Californian desert show the pilot activated the launch system just moments before the crash.
According to initial information, the female pilot suffered minor injuries and was immediately transported to a hospital in the town of Ridgecrest, where she received treatment.
Official update
A spokesperson for USAF later confirmed that an unexpected error occurred during training with the F-16C. The emergency forced the pilot – a female officer in the squadron – to abandon the plane just seconds before it hit the ground.
The US Air Force stated that an investigation has been opened to determine the exact cause of the accident, and that no one else was injured.
Source and images: US Air Force | Wikimedia. This content was created with the help of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editors.
