Airborne Tactical Advantage Company Pilot Ejects Safety, Fighter Goes Down in Empty Desert

A French Mirage F1 crashed near Buckeye, Arizona while being flown under contract by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC). The pilot ejected safely, with no serious injuries reported. The crash occurred in a desert field in the wide open land abutting a retirement community. Luckily for the unnamed F1 pilot, a land surveyor happened to be working in the vicinity who watched the plane go down. He said he saw a fireball and dust cloud from its touchdown point shortly before seeing the parachute from the ejector seat come down. He drove over to meet the pilot and assess the situation only to find him already talking on the phone with his managers at