Calif. Air Force F-16 Crash Kills 2

Calif. Air Force F-16 Crash Kills 2

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - An Air Force F-16 chase plane on a photography mission crashed Tuesday in a remote mountainous area, killing both men on board.

The F-16B, built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT - news), took off from Edwards Air Force Base on a photo mission to record the test flight of another F-16.

It went down about 7 a.m. some 30 miles east of the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, in an area capped with volcanic peaks.

``The two air crew members have been confirmed dead at the scene,'' Maj. Dennis Mehring said.

Killed were Maj. Aaron George, a pilot with the 416th Flight Test Squadron, and Judson Brohmer, an aerial photographer. It was not immediately clear if the two had ejected from the plane or were trapped in its wreckage, Mehring said.

A board of officers will investigate the accident of the roughly $30 million plane.

It is the third F-16 crash in the last few months.

In June, an Air Force pilot was killed while on a training mission in South Korea. Witnesses said the plane hit an electricity pole before crashing and exploding.

In March, the pilot of an F-16 fighter out of Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico ejected safely before the jet crashed near a bombing range. The pilot told investigators the jet's single engine failed.



Sayonara!!! Good Night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

Fiscal Year 2001 USAF F-16 Crashes
Date Type F-16 Base Cause News Link
18 July 2001 F-16C Deployed to Turkey 510 FS under inv. Yahoo news link
17 July 2001 F-16B Edwards AFB, CA 416 FTS under inv.
Pilot killed. My friend. AF News Link
6 July 2001 F-16CJ Shaw AFB, SC
77th FS under inv.
Pilot killed. AF News Link
12 Jun 2001 F-16C Kunsan AB, ROK
35th FS Night training--NVG. Pilot killed. AF News Link
3 Apr 2001 F-16CJ Misawa AB, Japan 13th FS Engine Failure AF NewsLink
21 Mar 2001 F-16 unknown Engine Failure
13 Dec 2000 F-16C Cannon AFB, NM Engine failure AF News
Accident Report
16 Nov 2000 F-16 Moody AFB, GA
69th FS Mid-air w/ Cessna 172
Civilian pilot killed. AF News
Accident report
13 Nov 2000 F-16 Misawa, Japan Mid-air w/ F-16 during G-awareness turn. Pilot killed. My friend. AF News
Accident report
13 Nov 2000 F-16 Misawa, Japan Mid-air w/F-16 AF News
12 Oct 2000 F-16 Tulsa Air Guard Engine failure AF News


Fiscal Year 2000 USAF F-16 Crashes
Date Type F-16 Base Cause News Link
31 Aug 2000 F-16C Atlantic City ANG, NJ Engine failure. Turbine blade separated, damage to oil system.
AF News


28 Aug 2000
F-16C Ft Worth ANG Pilot error. Unauthorized air show for in-laws. Pilot killed. AF News
AIB Report

8 Aug 2000 F-16CG & CJ Nellis AFB, NV Mid-air collision AF News
21 Jun 2000 F-16CG Hill AFB, AZ Under inv. AF News
16 Jun 2000 F-16C Luke AFB, AZ pilot error. engine shut off AF News
AF News
AIB report
19 Mar 2000 F-16C Shaw AFB, SC Pilot error during air show.
Pilot killed. My friend. AF News
16 Feb 2000 F-16CG Luke AFB, AZ engine AF News
16 Feb 2000 F-16DG Moody AFB, GA NVG upgrade AF News
17 Nov 1999 F-16C 170 FS, ANG pilot error. Mid-air during a NVG upgrade. One of two destroyed