F-16 Crashes After Pilot Ejects in Michigan

A military jet out of Texas went down in northern Michigan during a training exercise on Thursday, officials said, just after the pilot ejected safely. Military officials say an F-16 assigned to the 149th Fighter Wing crashed in a rural area near Traverse City, roughly 1,500 miles from its base at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, sending a towering column of black smoke over the area, USA Today reports. The pilot reportedly was being treated at a nearby hospital, per the AP. The jet was one of several from the base being used in training exercises, officials said.

A military spokesperson confirmed the crash but did not release details on the pilot's status or possible injuries on the ground. Wendy Sobeck said she and her husband heard a "very loud crash" down the road from their rural Michigan home. "You could see the plane debris in the field," she said. "Explosions kept happening." The 149th, known as the "Lone Star Gunfighters," is part of the Air National Guard and Texas Military Department. An F-16C Fighting Falcon with the Air Force's Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert in December; that pilot also ejected safely.