7 months ago
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A combatant pitchy with the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds objection squadron crashed successful the Southern California desert, but the aviator managed to eject safely, the subject said.
The aviator was being treated astatine a infirmary for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
The F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed astir 10:45 a.m. connected Wednesday (December 3, 2025) during a grooming ngo "over controlled airspace successful California", according to a connection from Nellis Air Force Base successful Nevada.
The occurrence section said it had responded to an “aircraft emergency” adjacent Trona, an unincorporated assemblage successful the Mojave Desert astir 180 miles (290 kilometres) northbound of Los Angeles.
In 2022, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed adjacent Trona, sidesplitting the pilot.
Wednesday's clang is nether probe and further accusation volition beryllium released from the 57th Wing Public Affairs Office, the Air Force connection said.
Like the Navy's Blue Angels, the Air Force Thunderbirds execute their celebrated choky formations astatine aerial shows, and bid to alert wrong inches of each other. The little connection from the Air Force did not springiness details connected the circumstances of the crash.
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds person had dozens of crashes successful their agelong histories.
Formed successful 1953, the Thunderbirds signifier seasonally retired of Nellis Air Force Base adjacent Las Vegas. Aircraft based determination see F-16 Falcon and F-22 Raptor combatant jets arsenic good arsenic A-10 Warthog ground-attack jets.
