A Block 30 F-16 Viper belonging to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing crashed at around 8 pm local time on December 8th, 2020. The aircraft went down on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A release from the 115th Fighter Wing reads in part:
…At the time of the incident, the aircraft was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board. Emergency responders are on scene. The cause of the crash, as well as the status of the pilot, are unknown at this time, and the incident is under investigation…
Michigan Live has posted the following regarding the ongoing response to the incident:
The crash occurred north of the U.P.’s Garden Peninsula, near the border of Delta and Schoolcraft counties in the Hiawatha National Forest. U.S. Forest Service workers joined with local authorities to set up a perimeter and begin the search late Tuesday.
According to U.P. media reports and unconfirmed police scanner traffic from emergency crews in the area, authorities had located a crash site and also had a broad area identified that could be the pilot’s ejection site.
Just days prior to the crash, the 115th Fighter Wing had announced that its Vipers would be executing night training from December 7th to the 10th.
As of 11:15 pm PST there is no word on the condition of the pilot.
*story by The Drive