F-16 crashes during training in Michigan; pilot ejects safely
Nearby residents were evacuated after police said hazardous chemicals spilled from the wreckage
An F-16 pilot safely ejected before the fighter jet crashed Thursday in rural Michigan, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and triggering temporary evacuations for nearby residents after police said hazardous chemicals spilled from the wreckage.
asserted
chemicals → crash → wreckage
Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, said the pilot was receiving medical treatment at a local hospital.
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pilot → say → hospital
Gutierrez declined to release details about the pilot's identity or any injuries, citing military policy.
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Gutierrez → decline → policy
The pilot was conscious and speaking to law enforcement at the hospital, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea said in a press briefing.
The plane was participating in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena, about 305 kilometres north of Detroit.
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plane → speak → Detroit
Nathan Smith was working at a construction site about a mile from the crash.
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Smith → work → crash
He said he started recording the passing fighter jet because something about its flight path struck him as odd.
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something → say → him
"It was strange to see a jet flying that low and slow," Smith said.
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Smith → see → jet
"A few seconds after the video cuts, I heard a loud ‘bang,' which I believe now to be the pilot ejecting, but I didn't think of that at the time."
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I → hear → time
Wendy Sobeck said she and her husband heard a "very loud crash" down the road, minutes from their rural home.
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she → say → home
"We thought there was a car accident outside our house.
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We → think → house
We saw big billowing black smoke.
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We → see → smoke
We couldn't tell what it was, so my husband got into his pickup truck and saw what happened," Sobeck said.
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Sobeck → tell → truck
"You could see the plane debris in the field.
uncertain
You → see → field
Explosions kept happening."
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Explosions → keep → ?
Fred Sobeck, 65, said he drove down the road and saw a "big fireball in the field" near a house and a camper, which were not hit.
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which → say → house
'Police told me to get out of there because of explosions'
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Police → tell → explosions
"Police told me to get out of there because of explosions," he said.
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he → tell → explosions
Emergency officials first directed nearby residents to shelter in place, but a short time later the Michigan State Police evacuated people within 1.6 kilometres because of a hazardous chemical spill related to the crash.
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Police → direct → crash
The state police did not release details about the nature of the spill, but F-16 jets use hydrazine, a toxic chemical, as a component of emergency power unit fuel.
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jets → release → fuel
By Thursday evening, the evacuation order had been lifted, and residents were able to return to their homes near the crash site, according to Grand Traverse County Emergency Management.
uncertain
residents → lift → Management
The jet was one of several F-16 aircraft from the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, taking part in the Michigan training exercises, Gutierrez said.
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Gutierrez → take → exercises
The U.S. military began flying the first F-16s in 1979.
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military → fly → 1979
The Class A mishap designation is generally used when the damage totals more than $2 million, when an aircraft is destroyed or when a service member is killed.
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member → use → million
In December, an F-16C Fighting Falcon with the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert, and the pilot in that crash was also able to eject safely.
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pilot → crash → crash
The Aporia
