Military plane crashes at Nellis Air Force Base upon takeoff

A military plane crashed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada and police have confirmed that the military jet crashed, and photos that have been released by news crew show a charred military jet on the runway. Early indications at Nellis Air Force Base appear to show that the jet, soon after takeoff, caught fire, and the pilot had to eject from the aircraft.

Plane crash details

The non-partisan International Relations and National Security analysis group, Strategic Sentinel, tweeted that a “military aircraft” had experienced an incident during takeoff this morning at Nellis AFB. Operation Red Flag, the largest joint air training campaign in the world kicked off yesterday. Due to the Red Flag operation, they added that the base, as of now, is the center of the busiest military airspace in the world.

Strategic Sentinel also stated that the jet was a “Royal Australian Air Force E/A-18G Growler” plane and that it had developed an engine malfunction shortly after the plane took off.

From ground reports, the aircraft slid off the runway but the pilot was able to eject safely. Both the E/A-18G Growler pilot and airbase ground crew are uninjured. Officials gave no further information on what happened other than that the plane had to abort and that they will wait until an investigation is completed to reveal the cause of the crash. The accident occurred at approximately 10:45 am local time (Nevada) and no serious injuries were reported.

Nellis Public Affairs statement

Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs, where the 99th Air Base Wing is located, stated on their website, “At roughly 10:45 a.m., a military aircraft experienced an incident during takeoff on the Nellis Air Force Base flight line.

Emergency services are on scene. No serious injuries are reported. More information on the incident will be released as it becomes available."

The base is located in southern Nevada and has more Air Force squadrons than any other USAF base in the United States. The USAF squadrons fly several different military aircraft that includes the F-15, the F-34A, F-16s, and the F-22 raptor. The crash comes a day after the United States Air Force at Nellis began its Red Flag 18-1 air-to-air combat training exercise. The air-to-air combat exercise is done many times a year and is also done in Alaska and includes participating U.S. allies in order to advance their readiness and competence in enemy combat scenarios.