Pilot ejects safely as Texas Air National Guard F-16 crashes in Michigan

A Texas Air National Guard F-16 crashed during a training flight in northern Michigan on September 17, 2026, after the pilot ejected safely.

The aircraft belonged to the 149th Fighter Wing, based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The wing confirmed that the pilot had been recovered following the crash near Blair Township in Grand Traverse County, Stars and Stripes reported.

Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the wing, told the Associated Press that the pilot was receiving treatment at a local hospital.Video of the crash site posted to social media showed thick balck smoke rising from burnging wreckage that appears to have crashed in a residential area. No one one the ground was reported injured.

The unit was in Michigan for training at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, according to Stars and Stripes.

Grand Traverse County emergency officials ordered residents within one mile of the crash site to evacuate, directing them away from the intersection of County Road 633 and Jefferson Place. Authorities established a command post at a nearby town municipal building.

The wing told the newspaper it was investigating the crash. The available reports did not identify a cause.The post Pilot ejects safely as Texas Air National Guard F-16 crashes in Michigan appeared first on AeroTime.

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