BlackZodiac
June 15th, 2007, 04:33 PM
" Friday Jun 15, 2007 16:24:58 EDT
An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed early Friday morning in Iraq while on a combat mission.
There was no word on the pilot’s fate.
The jet from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base crashed at 12:27 a.m. while on a close-air support mission, according to an Air Force statement.
In Columbus, Ohio, an Ohio National Guard spokesman said the pilot, whom he did not identify, was a member of the 180th Fighter Wing based in Toledo. Spokesman Mark Wayda said about 270 of the unit's 1,000 members were deployed to Iraq last month.
The F-16 was the third Falcon to crash inside Iraq since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.
On Nov. 27, Maj. Troy Gilbert was killed when he wasn’t able to pull his jet out of dive while making a strafing run on a truck that was involved in earlier attack on U.S. helicopters.
The first crash was on June 12, 2003, when a pilot flying back to his base miscalculated his fuel situation and allowed the engine to run out fuel. That pilot, Capt. Jon S. Wheeler, safely ejected."
An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed early Friday morning in Iraq while on a combat mission.
There was no word on the pilot’s fate.
The jet from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base crashed at 12:27 a.m. while on a close-air support mission, according to an Air Force statement.
In Columbus, Ohio, an Ohio National Guard spokesman said the pilot, whom he did not identify, was a member of the 180th Fighter Wing based in Toledo. Spokesman Mark Wayda said about 270 of the unit's 1,000 members were deployed to Iraq last month.
The F-16 was the third Falcon to crash inside Iraq since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.
On Nov. 27, Maj. Troy Gilbert was killed when he wasn’t able to pull his jet out of dive while making a strafing run on a truck that was involved in earlier attack on U.S. helicopters.
The first crash was on June 12, 2003, when a pilot flying back to his base miscalculated his fuel situation and allowed the engine to run out fuel. That pilot, Capt. Jon S. Wheeler, safely ejected."