Pilot Ejects From F-16 During Landing At Holloman Air Force Base In New Mexico

It's the second loss of an F-16 for the base in less than a year and comes after a string of major Air Force mishaps over the last 60 days.

By Tyler Rogoway July 14, 2020

The War Zone

Holloman AFB

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Details are very limited at this time, but an F-16 flying out of Holloman Air Force base located near the town of Alamagordo, New Mexico, crashed during landing. The good news is the pilot ejected and survived, but is being treated for injuries that are supposed to be fairly minor.

A press release from the 49th Wing's Facebook page reads:

A U.S. Air Force F-16C Viper assigned to the 49th Wing crashed during landing at Holloman AFB at approximately 1800 MDT today. The sole pilot on board successfully ejected, and is currently being treated for minor injuries. Emergency response teams are on scene at this time.
An investigation conducted by aboard of qualified officers is underway to determine the cause of the incident.
Additional details will be released as they become available.

F-16s belonging to the 49th Wing are used to train Viper pilots.

The incident is one in a troubling string of crashes over the last two months. Just 12 days ago, another USAF F-16 crashed at Shaw AFB during landing. The pilot died in that incident. In the six weeks prior to the Shaw crash, the Air Force lost an F-15C and its pilot, as well as an F-35A and an F-22A. Major mishaps also occurred involving a C-130 and another F-35A. So, suffice to say that the last couple of months have been unfortunate for the U.S. Air Force in terms of flight safety.

It's worth noting that Holloman lost another F-16 last October on a night training sortie. The pilot survived that mishap, as well.

We will update this post when more information comes available.

contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com