FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md: One of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crash landed June 2 in a field near Colorado Springs, Colorado, following the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement, which was attended by President Barack Obama.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon, the #6 jet in the formation, crashed about 5 nautical miles south of Peterson Air Force Base at approximately 1 p.m., according to a Air Combat Command news release.
The pilot ejected safely and is with medical personnel undergoing evaluation as a precaution, the release said.
“My thoughts are with the pilot, their family and friends and all (of the Thunderbirds personnel),” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James wrote in a tweet. “Glad to hear pilot is safe.”
The Air Force will perform a thorough investigation into the causes of the mishap, and those findings will be released when the investigation is complete.
More details will be released as they become available.
