Pilot Punches Out, Safe

Preliminary details are sketchy but an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed short of the runway at Nellis AFB at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 18.

The pilot ejected safely and was taken to the base hospital for evaluation, officials said.

The aircraft was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School’s 16th Weapons Squadron.

A board of officers will investigate the cause of the accident.

F-16 Characteristics

Primary Function: Multirole fighter
Builder: Lockheed Martin Corp.
Power Plant: F-16C/D: one Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229 or General Electric F110-GE-100/129
Thrust: F-16C/D, 27,000 pounds
Length: 49 feet, 5 inches (14.8 meters)
Height: 16 feet (4.8 meters)
Wingspan: 32 feet, 8 inches (9.8 meters)
Speed: 1,500 mph (Mach 2 at altitude)
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet (15 kilometers)
Maximum T/O Weight: 37,500 pounds (16,875 kilograms)
Range: More than 2,000 miles ferry range (1,740 nautical miles)
Armament: One M-61A1 20mm multibarrel cannon with 500 rounds; external stations can carry up to six air-to-air missiles, conventional air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and electronic countermeasure pods
Unit cost: F-16A/B , $14.6 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars); F-16C/D,$18.8 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Crew: F-16C, one; F-16D, one or two
Date Deployed: January 1979
Inventory: Active force, F-16C, 590 and F-16D, 130; Reserve, F-16C, 60 and F-16D; 10 and Air National Guard, F-16C, 438 and F-16D, 40.

FMI: www.af.mil