Both Pilots Safely Ejected Following Mid-Air Collision

A pair of F-16s belonging to the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard were involved in a mid-air collision Tuesday night during a training exercise in Georgia.

The Air Force Times reports that, according to a statement from the South Carolina Air National Guard, the two airplanes were involved in routine night-flying operations in Jefferson County, GA. Few details are available about the accident, but it occurred at about 2115 local time. The two pilots, who have not been identified, were taken to a local hospital for observation, according to SCANG spokesman 1st Lt. Stephen Hudson. There were no initial reports of injuries on the ground.

The airplanes both went down in separate wooded areas. "We are dealing with two crash sites," Hudson said in a news release.

The aircraft were involved in a training mission in an area known as the Townsend Range which is regularly used by the SC Air National Guard for such training missions.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.169fw.ang.af.mil