Pilot Safely Ejects as Texas Air National Guard F-16 Crashes

A pilot safely ejected from a crashing F-16 Fighting Falcon on Thursday in Grand Traverse County, Mich.

The jet, part of the 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard, was “on a routine training mission from the Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center, in Alpena” during the incident, the Texas Air National Guard said in a statement, cited by Stars and Stripes. The crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. and the pilot ejected safely.

The incident came as the Texas Unit is in Michigan to take part in annual training at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. The planes were scheduled to take part in a flyover of a football game on Friday night as part of POW-MIA Recognition Day.

Blair Township Supervisor Nicole Blonshine told CBS Detroit that the pilot parachuted to the ground and is awake and alert.

“The pilot successfully ejected the aircraft and is receiving care at a nearby hospital,” the statement said.

Grand Traverse Sheriff Michael Shea told a press briefing that the pilot was “conscious and speaking with law enforcement.”

Michigan State Police told ABC News the crash caused a “hazardous chemical spill,” prompting a temporary evacuation of homes and businesses within one mile of the crash site. It was lifted at around 9:45 p.m. local time on Thursday night.

The crash, which did not cause any other injuries, remains under investigation. The cause of the crash is also yet to be determined.

The Hill reported that air traffic control audio suggests that the plane may have struck a bird before it crashed.

Air Crashes on the Rise

There have been multiple Army helicopter crashes over the past year.

There have been five major crashes of Apache planes since October 2025, according to CNN’s analysis of military accident data in August, representing the second-highest number of crashes since the military launched the new model of the AH-64 in 2011.

A Coast Guard jet with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin on board landed safely after one of its engines failed during a flight on Sept. 3.

All 14 people aboard the flight landed safely after an air traffic controller directed the plane to a runway.

Elsewhere, eight people—two pilots and six passengers—died after a Cessna 441 charter aircraft crashed at a remote radar site on Aug. 20 in western Alaska.

An AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed Aug. 12 in Salado, Texas, roughly 30 miles south-east of Fort Hood Army Base, according to the U.S. Army Fort Hood Media Center.

This caused the death of the two pilots on board and led the Army to temporarily pause AH-64 Apache training operations.