Washington,. An F-16C Fighting Falcon of the US Air Force’s famous Thunderbirds aerial demo team crashed during training in the skies of California. The accident happened around 10.45 am on Thursday, but the relief is that the pilot came out in time and landed safely. The official statement issued by the Air Force said that the pilot’s condition is stable and he is under the care of the medical team.
According to media reports, the training mission was going on in controlled airspace. Immediately after the accident, seeing the pilot coming down with a parachute hanging in the sky, people shared videos and pictures which quickly went viral on social media. In these pictures, the smoke rising after the crash and the debris scattered on the banks of the dry lake are clearly visible. The Air Force said an investigation into the incident has been launched and the 57th Wing Public Affairs Office will provide further information. It is not yet clear how such a situation arose during the training mission in which the pilot had to eject. The fault or cause will be known only after investigation.
According to the report, local agencies immediately took over the work of rescue and fire control on the spot. The department spokesperson said that they received information about the crash at 10.30 am and a fire suppression operation was immediately started. The area where the accident occurred is a dry lake, where low flying of fighter jets often occurs during training missions. According to officials, the fire was controlled before it spread so that there was no damage to the surrounding area.