Defense Department officials have told Fox News on Wednesday (April 4) that an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon has crashed at Nellis Air Force Base, located outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The F-16 was on a routine training mission when the plane crashed at 10:45 AM local time (Nevada) at the Nevada Test and Training Range and as of 4:23 PM ET there is no word on the fate of the pilot.

Nellis Public Affairs statement

Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs stated that emergency crews are present at the scene and that as soon as further details become available, they will provide the information, as the crash incident is presently under investigation.

Third military aircraft crash this week

The F-16 crash at Nellis AFB is the third US military aircraft crash since April 3, 2018, when a Marine helicopter, a CH-53E Super Stallion, had gone down during military training exercise situated along the US-Mexico border in California, claiming the lives of four US Marines. The CH-53E Super Stallion was reported to have been a part of the 3rd US Marine Aircraft Wing stationed in San Diego, California.

The CH-53E Super Stallion crash would be the worst for the US Marines since the July 2017 crash in Mississippi which killed 15 US Marines and a US Navy sailor. The leadership of the US Marine Corp aviation group had informed Congress in November 2017 that the CH-53 air fleet was deficient and that out of 200 of the required helicopters needed on the flight line, he had only 143 helicopters and that only 37 percent could fly.

Furthermore, on the same day, in Africa, in the nation of Djibouti, a US Marine AV-8B Harrier jet, during a training exercise, crashed and while the Marine pilot was able to eject, he remains at the hospital in stable condition. The exact cause of that crash remains under investigation.

Nellis Air Force Base January 2018 military jet crash

In January 2018, a Royal Australian Air Force E/A-18G Growler jet had slid down the runway, crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff during the largest joint air training campaign, code-named, Operation Red Flag, in the world. Reports had indicated that the E/A-18G Growler developed some sort of a malfunction to one of its engines and that the Growler pilot was able to eject without injury. Nellis AFB ground crews and other personnel were not injured. Nellis Air Force base is home to the 99th Air Base Wing, assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) as well as the subordinate organization, the US Air Force Warfare Center.
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