Fight Jet Crashes In Marland, Near D.C.
F16 Fighter | Photo Credit Getty Near Joint Base Andrews, a fighter jet just crashed in Maryland, sending black smoke in the air and forcing locals to evacuate their homes. The D.C. Air National Guard F-16C jet crashed at 9:15 am on Wednesday morning, according to officials.
The pilot, who was reported to be on a routine training flight, ejected the aircraft safely, but did obtain a few, non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt during the incident as the plane crashed 200 yards away from homes.
Live Rounds Go Off During Explosion
F16 Crash Witness | Photo Credit Fox News
Eye-witness Patrick Dobson told reporters:
“I was sitting on my porch, on the phone, and I heard this loud explosion. I looked up and the jet was already on fire. The pilot had already ejected. He was on fire. The seat was on fire. I screamed to my mother to get out of the house. I thought the jet was going to land right here (points to neighbor house) but it landed back in the woods. When the jet exploded, I was already running towards where I saw the parachute, to see if I could help the pilot.
“At that time, past the explosion, live rounds started coming past me, so I ducked down in front of this house. I waited for the bullets to stop flying. They eventually stopped and I ran towards the pilotâprobably a mile and a half into the woods, in a field. I found the pilot. He was on his two feet and aware of everything. He was worried about the neighborhood.”
The eye-witness mentioned live rounds. When the jet went down, some of the live rounds on the jet exploded or heated within the canons, meaning that they shot in every direction due to the heat from the fire.
$20 Million Jet Goes Down Near Homes
F16 Pilot | Photo Credit Daily Caller
According to The Daily Mail:
“The pilot was on a training mission for the 113th Wing. It’s not clear if the plane was taking off or landing. The Wing is used, per a post-9/11 protocol, to patrol the area and intercept planes that enter a ‘safe zone’ around the capital. They fly 3,000 missions a year – around ten a day – NBC reported.
“Those planes are scrambled from Andrews, which is used by the president to fly in and out of Washington. Despite officials saying that no live ammunition was on board the plane, one local told NBC that she heard as many as 20 ‘ammunition-style’ shots after the crash. An ordinance disposal vehicle was also spotted heading to the crash site by NBC reporters.”
