A Texas National Guard pilot survived after ejecting from his F-16 fighter jet before it crashed and burned in northern Michigan during a training exercise.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, is awake and alert after parachuting to the ground and is being treated at a nearby hospital, Blair Township Supervisor Nicole Blonshine told The Post. The crash occurred in Grand Traverse County, where the 149th Fighter Wing based at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas was conducting training operations at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
Frantic radio traffic captured the moments leading up to the ejection, with the downed pilot’s wingman reporting trouble to air traffic control. The wingman, using the callsign “Buck 11,” told controllers he believed his wingman had taken a bird strike.
“We have a possible mayday by wingman, I believe may have taken a bird,” Buck 11 said in the recorded exchange. The wingman reported that the suspected bird hit had taken out an engine on his companion’s aircraft.
As the situation deteriorated, air traffic controllers attempted to guide the pilots toward a nearby airport for an emergency landing. Buck 11 cut in with increasingly urgent warnings about his wingman’s predicament.
“Alert emergency services!…He’s gonna have to get out, and it’s gonna be in the town that I’m overhead now,” Buck 11 transmitted.
The jet went down after what the 149th Fighter Wing confirmed as a “mishap.” A spokesperson for the unit told The Post, “We are currently investigating the mishap.”
Blonshine, who could hear the crash from her home, described the immediate aftermath to The Post. “It sounded like a huge explosion. I ran out and I saw a big smoke plume, and my first thought was somebody’s house blew up,” she said. She added that a command post has been established in the Blair Township hall to coordinate the response.
County authorities issued an evacuation order for residents within one mile of the crash site. “Evacuate within 1 mile of the site. Evacuate away from the intersection of Co Rd 633 and Jefferson Pl. Follow instructions from emergency personnel,” Grand Traverse County Emergency Management posted on social media.
Blonshine indicated she did not believe anyone on the ground was injured or that any houses were damaged in the crash, though the aircraft itself was destroyed by fire.
The incident disrupted local plans beyond the immediate emergency response. The jets were scheduled for a flyover of a high school football game Friday night, according to the Alpena News.
The 149th Fighter Wing, part of the Texas Air National Guard, regularly conducts training exercises at facilities outside its home state. The Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in northeastern Michigan serves as a frequent destination for military aviation units seeking expanded airspace and training scenarios.
The investigation into the exact cause of the crash is ongoing, with the bird strike report from Buck 11 serving as an early lead for officials examining why the advanced fighter jet went down.
The Alpena News reported that the football game flyover was planned for Friday night.