An F-16 fighter Jet crashed in Trona, California, on Wednesday throughout a coaching train for the Air Pressure Thunderbirds aerial demonstration workforce.
Fortunately, the pilot safely ejected from the plane, in line with Nellis Air Pressure Base close to Las Vegas, Nevada, the place the workforce is stationed.
Video from the scene reveals a big fiery plume of smoke following the crash and the pilot parachuting down from the sky.
WATCH:
Nellis Air Pressure Base mentioned in a press release,
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada — On December 3, 2025, at roughly 10:45a.m., a Thunderbird pilot safely ejected from a F-16C Combating Falcon plane throughout a coaching mission over managed airspace in California.
The pilot is in secure situation and receiving follow-on care.
The incident is below investigation and additional data can be launched from the 57th Wing Public Affairs Workplace and at https://www.nellis.af.mil/News/News-Releases/.
Extra from the Los Angeles Times:
The pilot safely ejected from the plane and was in secure situation, in line with U.S. Air Pressure Sgt. Jovante Johnson. The F-16C Combating Falcon was assigned to the Air Pressure Thunderbirds, an aerial acrobatic demonstration workforce based mostly at Nellis Air Pressure Base in Nevada, Johnson mentioned in an e-mail.
The crash befell at round 10:45 a.m. throughout a coaching mission, he wrote. The reason for the crash is below investigation.
A motorist, Darren Springer, 60, mentioned he was driving south out of Loss of life Valley when he noticed an explosion that despatched up a thick plume of black smoke. “My coronary heart sank,” he mentioned.
The crash befell about 20 miles from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the Navy’s largest base and a hub for growing and testing weapons.
This can be a growing story.
