US F-16 crashes during training exercise in Michigan

A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed during a routine training exercise in the US state of Michigan. The pilot ejected from the aircraft at the time of the crash and managed to escape safely.

Citing the Texas Military Department, CNN reported that the crashed fighter jet belonged to the 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard. The aircraft took off from a National Guard base in Alpena, Michigan. It crashed in a rural area of Grand Traverse County on Thursday afternoon, September 17.

Officials said the pilot successfully ejected despite the crash. He was rescued and admitted to a local hospital, where his condition is currently stable. No injuries to any other person were reported in the accident.

According to information from LiveATC.net, a website that provides air traffic control communication audio recordings, military pilots issued a distress call, or Mayday, during the flight. In the audio, one pilot could be heard saying, "There may have been a bird strike on the aircraft." An air traffic controller warned other aircraft and said the fighter jet's pilot may have ejected after the engine failed.

Video footage from the crash site showed a huge fireball erupting in a field adjacent to a rural residential area south of Traverse City, with plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

Eyewitness Shelly Dornbos said she and her husband were driving home when they heard a loud explosion and saw a fireball. She said, "When we asked a police officer about the explosion, he told us that a fighter jet had crashed and that the explosions were caused by ammunition carried on the aircraft."

Following the crash, Michigan State Police ordered all homes and businesses within a one-mile radius of the crash site to be evacuated over concerns that potentially harmful chemicals could have been released from the aircraft. However, as the situation came under control, most residents were allowed to return to their homes by 10pm on Thursday.

Military authorities said the exact cause of the crash remains unclear and that a detailed investigation has begun.

Bird strikes involving aircraft are not uncommon in the United States. According to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) wildlife database, thousands of aircraft are hit by birds every year in the United States. In the Traverse City area of Michigan alone, 41 such bird strikes were recorded in 2025.