An F-16 pilot safely ejected before the fighter jet crashed Thursday in rural Michigan, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and triggering temporary evacuations for nearby residents after police said hazardous chemicals spilled from the wreckage.
Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, said the pilot was receiving medical treatment at a local hospital. Gutierrez declined to release details about the pilot's identity or any injuries, citing military policy.
The pilot was conscious and speaking to law enforcement at the hospital, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea said in a press briefing.
The plane was participating in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena, about 190 miles (305 kilometers) north of Detroit.
Another pilot told air traffic controllers that he believes his wingman hit a bird and crashed, according to audio posted by www.liveatc.net.
"We have a possible Mayday. My wingman I believe may have taken a bird," the pilot reported. The controller offered to direct him to a nearby airport in Frankfort or Traverse City, but the pilot said his wingman had already crashed.
Gutierrez said he hadn't heard anything about a possible bird strike, and said the crash is under investigation.
"Once we get some more information and it's approved, we can release it to you," he said.
Nathan Smith was working at a construction site about a mile from the crash. He said he started recording the passing fighter jet because something about its flight path struck him as odd.
"It was strange to see a jet flying that low and slow," Smith said. "A few seconds after the video cuts, I heard a loud 'bang,' which I believe now to be the pilot ejecting, but I didn't think of that at the time."
Wendy Sobeck said she and her husband heard a "very loud crash" down the road, minutes from their rural 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," Sobeck said. "You could see the plane debris in the field. Explosions kept happening."
Fred Sobeck, 65, said he drove down the road and saw a "big fireball in the field" near a house and a camper, which were not hit.
"Police told me to get out of there because of explosions," he said.
Emergency officials first directed nearby residents to shelter in place, but a short time later the Michigan State Police evacuated people within one mile because of a hazardous chemical spill related to the crash. The state police did not release details about the nature of the spill, but F-16 jets use hydrazine, a toxic chemical, as a component of emergency power unit fuel.
The jet was one of several F-16 aircraft from the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, taking part in the Michigan training exercises, Gutierrez said.
The military began flying the first F-16s in 1979. There have been at least 14 "Class A mishaps" involving F-16s since 2000, according to the Air Force Safety Center. The Class A mishap designation is generally used when the damage totals more than $2 million, when an aircraft is destroyed or when a service member is killed.
In December, an F-16C Fighting Falcon with the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert, and the pilot in that crash was also able to eject safely.
