An F-16 fighter jet from Texas crashed in rural Michigan on Thursday during a routine training exercise, with the pilot ejecting safely before being taken to a local hospital, a military spokesman said.The aircraft was taking part in exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena, about 190 miles (305 km) north of Detroit, when it went down. Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing, said the pilot was receiving medical treatment but declined to provide the pilot’s name or details about any injuries, citing military policy.The crash sent a plume of dark smoke into the air and prompted reports of explosions from people living nearby.The fighter jet was among several F-16s from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas participating in the Michigan exercises, Gutierrez said.Wendy Sobeck, who lives in the area with her husband, said they initially believed a vehicle had crashed near their home. “We thought there was a car accident outside our house. We saw big billowing black smoke. We couldn’t tell what it was, so my husband got into his pickup truck and saw what happened,” she said. “You could see the plane debris in the field. Explosions kept happening,” she said, as quoted by AP.Her husband, Fred Sobeck, 65, said he saw flames after driving toward the crash site. “Police told me to get out of there because of explosions,” he said, recalling a “big fireball in the field” near a house and a camper. Neither structure was hit, he said.The US military began operating F-16s in 1979. The Air Force Safety Center records at least 14 Class A mishaps involving the aircraft since 2000. The designation generally applies when an incident results in more than $2 million in damage, destroys an aircraft or causes a service member’s death.Another F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed in California’s desert in December while flying with the US Air Force Thunderbirds. The pilot also ejected safely in that incident.
