Two South Carolina Air National Guard fighter jets involved in training ahead of an upcoming deployment collided Tuesday night over rural Georgia, forcing both pilots to eject safely, according to a unit commander.
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The U.S. Air Force will be conducting a detailed safety investigation.
An initial recovery phase and investigation will start soon, South Carolina National Guard Brigadier General Van McCarty told reporters during a press conference.
She said that she could not state whether the men had been released from the hospital. Six of their aircraft were in that airspace when the collision occurred.
CNN reported citing 169th Fighter Wing commander colonel Nicholas Gentile Jr that the remains of the aircraft were found on the ground and nobody on the ground was injured.
The pilots were talking normally and did not appear to be hurt when they were found, Anderson said.
A command center has been set up in Louisville to locate the missing wreckage of the F-16s which crashed in a wooded area.
Local first responders are securing the area and providing emergency response services.
There were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground.
This is the latest in a string of crashes for military flying teams. “They did eject safely”.
The 32-year-old Kuss was practicing for an air show when his F/A-18 jet crashed near Nashville, Tennessee, just after takeoff on June 2.
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A pilot of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird crashed following a flyover for graduating cadets at the Air Force Academy.
