SPANGDAHLEM, Germany - A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed Tuesday at Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany, with the pilot ejecting from the aircraft and receiving medical care, according to the U.S. military.
The aircraft was assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem and crashed at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time.
The military said the pilot ejected safely before the crash. The pilot's identity and additional details about the person's medical condition were not immediately released.
Emergency response personnel were dispatched to the crash site, and local German fire and disaster-response teams also responded.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Jet was returning from training
Germany's air traffic control authority said four F-16s had been participating in a training exercise before the crash, according to Reuters.
Two aircraft remained in the training area while two others were returning to Spangdahlem Air Base.
One of the returning aircraft is believed to have crashed while approaching the base, the authority said.
The remaining F-16s landed at Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany.
U.S. military officials have not announced whether a mechanical problem, weather conditions, pilot factors or another issue contributed to the crash.
Investigators will examine the aircraft, flight information and other available evidence before determining a cause.
Spangdahlem is a major U.S. fighter base
Spangdahlem Air Base is located in Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate region and is one of the U.S. military's significant aviation installations in Europe.
The 52nd Fighter Wing maintains and operates F-16CM Fighting Falcons in support of U.S. national defense and NATO missions.
According to the Air Force, the wing consists of approximately 5,000 military and civilian personnel across multiple units and locations in Europe.
The 480th Fighter Squadron, part of the 52nd Operations Group, operates more than two dozen Block 50 F-16 aircraft and conducts air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
The base supports U.S. power projection and NATO operations across Europe while also supporting missions extending into Africa and Southwest Asia.
Second U.S. F-16 crash in less than a week
Tuesday's accident follows another U.S. Air Force F-16 crash during a training mission in Michigan on Sept. 17.
In that incident, an F-16 assigned to the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing crashed in rural Michigan. That pilot also ejected safely.
The two incidents involved aircraft assigned to different units and occurred under different circumstances. Authorities have not indicated that the crashes are connected.
The cause of the Michigan crash also remains under investigation.
Investigation underway in Germany
The Air Force has not released a timeline for completing its investigation into Tuesday's crash at Spangdahlem.
Military aviation investigations typically examine aircraft maintenance records, flight data, communications, environmental conditions and other evidence to determine what contributed to an accident.
Officials said additional information about the Spangdahlem crash will be released as it becomes available.
For now, the military has confirmed that the aircraft was an F-16 assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, the pilot successfully ejected and emergency crews responded to the scene.