Ejecting Safely, Pilots Unharmed In F-16d Fighter Crash

A National Guard F-16D fighter plane crashed in a remote section of forest Wednesday, but both pilots ejected safely and walked to a farmhouse to report the accident.

The cause of the crash had not been determined, said Ohio National Guard Maj. Jim Boling.

It was the second crash this month involving the $12.8 million F-16, one of the most heavily used U.S. military aircraft.

In Wednesday’s crash, the two-seat F-16D crashed in Brush Creek State Forest, in an area of southern Ohio where training flights are conducted at altitudes below 5,000 feet, Boling said. He said it did not carry any live weapons.

The plane was part of the 178th Fight Wing of the Air National Guard at Springfield, said spokesman Lt. Col. Gene Brandewie.

The pilots were examined at Pike Community Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Linda James.

“Not a scratch on them,” she said.