US F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes in California Desert, Pilot Miraculously Survives
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A US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed in the Southern California desert on Wednesday, but the pilot managed to eject safely. The pilot was being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The incident occurred during a training mission in controlled airspace, approximately 180 miles north of Los Angeles. The crash site is near Trona, an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert. This is the second crash in the area in two years, following a 2022 incident involving a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet that resulted in the pilot's death. The cause of Wednesday's crash is currently under investigation. The Air Force's elite Thunderbirds demonstration squadron, which operates out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, has a long history of performing aerial stunts and training for precision flying. The squadron, formed in 1953, has had its share of crashes, including those involving the F-16 Falcon and F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
