US military F-16 crashes in Michigan during training exercise, pilot ejects to safety

A US military F-16 fighter jet crashed and burst into flames in Michigan on Thursday afternoon, with the pilot ejecting safely.

According to the Associated Press, the aircraft crashed in Grand Traverse County, south of Traverse City, while taking part in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena.

Video showed a fireball in a field near homes followed by a large plume of black smoke.

“We have a possible mayday by wingman. I believe (they) may have taken a bird,” a military pilot told air traffic controllers, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net.

Michigan State Police said the pilot, who was the only person aboard, was taken to a local hospital in stable condition and no other injuries were reported.

Authorities evacuated everyone within a one-mile radius because of a “hazardous chemical spill related to the plane crash.”

Witness Shellie Doornbos told CNN she heard explosions after the crash.

“We could hear explosions coming from the fire and asked a police officer what it was we were hearing as we were driving away, and he told us it was a fighter jet crash and the explosions were ammunition,” she said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.