US Air Force F-16 crashes in South Carolina, pilot killed

Sylvie Claire / July 02, 2020

A US Air Force F-16 fighter plane crashed Tuesday evening during a training flight over a South Carolina air base, killing the pilot who was alone on board, the Pentagon said.

The plane crashed at around 11:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m.BST on Wednesday) at Shaw Air Force Base, some 160 km north of Charleston, the base said in a statement.

The aircraft was on a training flight with a pilot on board, who was killed in the crash, the statement said, without indicating the cause of the crash.

It was the fourth serious accident involving US Air Force pilots in less than two months.

On June 15, a United Kingdom-based US Air Force pilot was killed when his F15 crashed in the North Sea during a routine training mission.

On May 19, a fifth generation F-35A stealth fighter crashed into a landing during a routine night flight at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The pilot was able to eject.

On May 15, a stealth F-22 plane crashed about 20 kilometers from the same Eglin base during a test flight. Again, the pilot ejected and was evacuated in a "stable" state.

Credit : Sudinfo