One Jet Landed Safely, Wreckage Found Near Collision Site

 ANN Realtime Update 10.16.2009 1713:  The Associated Press is reporting that Coast Guard searchers have found wreckage they believe is from the U.S. Air Force F-16 which went down following a mid-air collision Thursday night.

"The Coast Guard has found some debris in the ocean that is apparently from our missing F-16," Robert Sexton, chief of public affairs at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C., said during a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service. Shaw Air Force Base is the home of the 20th Fighter Wing, to which the jets are attached.

 Original Story: Two U.S. Air Force F-16's reportedly collided over the Atlantic Ocean during a nighttime training mission about 40 miles off the coast of South Carolina about 2030 Thursday night.

One of the aircraft was able to land safely Charleston Air Force Base. The Associated Press reports that search crews have spotted wreckage and an oil sheen in the water near where the accident occurred. The sheen is said to be consistant with jet fuel.

Capt. Michael McAllister of the Coast Guard in Charleston said Friday that the search area is now about 1,300 square miles. The pilot of the second aircraft, Capt. Nicholas Giglio of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, is still missing.

McAllister reports that no ELT signal has been detected from either Giglio or his ejection seat.

FMI: www.af.mil