A pilot from the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, ejected safely from his F-16 fighter Thursday about 10 miles north of the base, but the fighter crashed into trees and a field. The pilot was on a routine training flight. There was no immediate word about the cause of the accident, which is now under investigation.
The Air Force will begin its 71st annual Operation Christmas Drop on Dec. 4. The weeklong exercise is a yearly tradition that delivers supplies such as food, fishing equipment, school books, and clothes to remote islands in the Pacific. It is the longest-running Department of Defense humanitarian mission.