Tuesday, September 05, 2017

Lockheed Martin F-16C/IQ Fighting Falcon, Iraqi Air Force: Fatal accident occurred September 05, 2017 in Graham County, Arizona

SAFFORD, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - An F-16 fighter jet crashed late Tuesday night and the Iraqi pilot was killed 20 miles northwest of Safford in southeastern Arizona. 

The Fighting Falcon went down around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The jet was based out of the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing.

According to First Lt. Lacey Roberts with the 162nd Wing, the Iraqi student pilot was conducting a routine F-16 training mission in conjunction with the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing in Tucson when it went down.

The pilot was flying an F-16 belonging to the Iraqi air force. The U.S. Air Force is training Iraqi pilots in F-16 fighters at the request of the Iraqi government, Roberts said.

The Graham County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the pilot died just before 10:30 p.m.

The Air Force has assembled an interim safety board to investigate the incident.

According to the Arizona Air National Guard, the F-16 Fighting Falcon is a "compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations."

Safford is about a three-hour drive east from Phoenix via U.S. 70 and U.S. 60. Driving via Interstate 10 adds about 30 minutes.

Story and video ➤  http://www.azfamily.com

Iraqi pilot confirmed dead after Iraqi Air Force F-16 crashed yesterday conducting a routine training mission in conjunction with the AZANG.






An F-16 fighter jet based at Tucson International Airport crashed Tuesday afternoon near Safford, Ariz., officials said. The pilot was killed, Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred said Tuesday night.

Air Force and National Guard officials did not immediately confirm Allred's statement.

The status of the pilot was unknown, with "rescue efforts underway," 1st Lt. Lacey Roberts of the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing said during the afternoon.

The Fighting Falcon crashed about 20 miles northwest of Safford around 3 p.m., Roberts said.

The crash site is near Fort Thomas, in Graham County, Allred said.

The crash is the second of a TIA-based F-16 since 2015, while several other fatal incidents have involved F-16s from Arizona's Luke Air Force Base.

The 162nd Wing, in addition of training U.S. personnel, also conducts training for pilots of allied nations, including Iraq, Singapore, Oman and NATO countries, such as Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Roberts did not indicate if the plane and pilot were American or part of a foreign training mission.

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The air wing is based at TIA.

"The Air Force has assembled an interim safety board to investigate the incident," Roberts said.

In June 2015, an Iraqi pilot was killed when his F-16 crashed near Douglas on a 162nd training mission.

In November 2015, an F-16 from Holloman Air Force Base, near Alamogordo, crashed in New Mexico, but the pilot ejected safely in that incident. That F-16 belonged to a unit detached from Luke AFB in Glendale, Ariz.

In January 2016, a Taiwanese pilot was killed when an F-16 fighter jet based at Luke crashed near Bagdad, Ariz., west of Prescott. 

In February 2017, one person was killed and another hurt during a U.S. Air Force live-fire training accident involving F-16 fighter planes in New Mexico, based out of Luke.

Read more here ➤ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com




The pilot was killed when an F-16 training with the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing crashed near Safford on Tuesday afternoon, Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred said.

Allred said he did not know the identity of the pilot, nor where the man was from.

The crash site is near Fort Thomas, about 20 miles northwest of Safford, in Graham County.

The wing said Tuesday that the Air Force has assembled an interim safety board to investigate the incident and additional details will be provided as they become available.

The crash was the second involving an F-16 Fighting Falcon flying from the 162nd Wing at Tucson International Airport, and the third F-16 crash in Arizona, since mid-2015.

The 162nd Wing is the Air Guard's biggest F-16 training operation and conducts training missions across military ranges in Southern and Central Arizona.

In July 2015, an Iraqi brigadier general flying from the 162nd died when his F-16, a newer model recently delivered to the Iraqi air force, crashed during night training near Douglas.

In January 2016, a Taiwanese pilot on a training flight from Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix was killed when his F-16 went down near Bagdad in Yavapai County.

The 162nd Wing has hosted training for pilots of allied nations since 1990 and trained pilots from nations including Iraq, Singapore, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Oman, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Original article can be found here ➤ http://tucson.com



FORT THOMAS — An Arizona Air National Guard aircraft has crashed in the Fort Thomas area, killing the pilot.

Cause of the crash has not yet been released.

“All I can say is we do have a crash, and it appears to be an Air Force jet,” Graham County Sheriff PJ Allred said. “We’re waiting on the inspectors from Davis-Monthan (Air Force Base, in Tucson) to come out.”

According to a press release issued by the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard, an F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed at about 3 p.m.

The crash was in the vicinity of Blackrock Road, near the shooting range.

Allred confirmed the death of the pilot. There were no other injuries. Identity of the victim has not yet been released.


Calls to the Davis-Monthan and the 162nd Wing public affairs offices were not immediately returned.

Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.eacourier.com

Officials with the Arizona Air National Guard said an F-16 Fighting Falcon has crashed near Safford Tuesday afternoon.

According to officials with the Arizona Air National Guard's 163nd Wing, the plane crashed at 3:00 p.m., approximately 20 miles northwest of Safford.

The status of the pilot is unknown at this time, but rescue efforts are underway.

Story and video ➤  http://www.fox10phoenix.com

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