Posted on 07/18/2007 6:19:32 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
A U.S. F-16C block 50 from the 13th EFS deployed with the 332nd AEW crashed during takeoff at 16.55h from Balad Airbase on Sunday. Officials said the pilot was uninjured after ejecting.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, the military said in a statement.
The F-16 was taking off for a combat mission, to provide air support to troops on the ground fighting militants, when it crashed at Balad Air Base, 50 miles north of Baghdad.
The aircraft crashed near the runway and the resulting fire was extinguished by Air Force firefighters from the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron and Army firefighters from the 60th Ordnance Detachment, 1034th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
The pilot of the single-seat aircraft ejected safely and was taken to be evaluated by doctors and discharged.
Balad is the main air base for the U.S. military in Iraq.
Close call. Thank goodness he will fly another day.
Planes, we can replace. Pilots, not so much. Good news all around. It was probably due for replacement; the ashtray was full.
Well put.
the resulting fire was extinguished by Air Force firefighters from the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron and Army firefighters from the 60th Ordnance Detachment, 1034th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
.
Good thing Democrats and Clinton ‘BlackHawk Down’ Republicans haven’t been able to cut Troop levels, or there would be no re-enforcements to put out the fire and recover the Pilot.
.
Murtha, cut the funding and “re-deploy” the troops to Okinawa.
Pilot down, plane ablaze. “Yes sir, on the way. ETIC 9 hours”
Yes, there was also the Pilot who went down in Serbia(I think), first name Scott, had to hide out for days before he could finally be rescued.
LOL.... yes he’s fine, but he’s lucky. I got to SEE him eject here at Balad from about 1000m away as it happened. It was a bit of a mess, lucky nobody got hurt on the ground. It could have been really ugly, its kind of crowded around here. The 20mm shells cooking off made for a bit of excitement. Luckily the 500lb bombs did not cook off.
You are in theatre? Military or contractor?
Yes, I’m here in theatre as a military person, AFRC.
“I got to SEE him eject here at Balad from about 1000m away as it happened”
Good to hear everyone is ok on this one.
You guys stay safe and thanks for everything that you do for us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.