Capt. Tyler Hill, 8th Fighter Squadron flight commander, pilots an F-16 with Andrew King, University of Michigan Air Force ROTC cadet, on Aug. 15, 2019, at Holloman AFB, N.M. Air Force photo by A1C Autumn Vogt.
A pilot is recovering at a local hospital after ejecting from an F-16 before it crashed Oct. 29 near Holloman AFB, N.M., the base announced.
The F-16, assigned to Holloman’s 49th Wing, was on a training flight when it crashed around 7:15 p.m. It went down about 80 miles southeast of the base, the wing said in a release.
Emergency response teams arrived at the scene and the crash is under investigation. No additional details have been provided about the pilot or the aircraft. Holloman hosts the 54th Fighter Group, the Air Force’s main F-16 training unit. Its five squadrons train about 180 students per year, according to the wing. Holloman also hosts QF-16 targeting drones.
It is the second Air Force F-16 crash in less than a month, following the Oct. 8 crash of a Fighting Falcon from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany. That pilot also ejected amid the mishap.
Lockheed Martin-built F-16s have also crashed in California, Maryland, Nevada, and New Mexico since 2015.