☰

Global

U.S. F-16 jet crashes in southern Germany, pilot ejects


    BERLIN (Reuters) - A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed in a forest in southern Germany during a training flight on Tuesday but the pilot managed to eject safely, police and U.S. Air Force officials said.

    The accident occurred at 09.38 a.m. (0738 GMT) near Engelmannsreuth in the north of Bavaria state, a spokesman for the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base near Trier said.

    The pilot safely ejected and jettisoned fuel tanks over an unpopulated area, he added. The F-16 was carrying six 25-pound (11 kg) trainee munitions; no live munitions were on board.

    Regional police said the pilot was found by a passerby in the woods and was getting treatment for light injuries.

    The crash, whose cause was under investigation, occurred during a training flight out of the U.S. Army Garrison in Grafenwoehr, Bavaria.

    (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Mark Heinrich)