Pilot survives as US fighter jet crashes in Germany

FILE - In this April 27, 2010 file photo an F-16 airplane lifts off at the US military Airport in Spangdahlem, Germany. The U.S. military says an F-16 fighter jet has crashed in western Germany but the pilot ejected to safety. Police said the plane came down in the Zemmer area, between the city of Trier and the U.S. Air Force's Spangdahlem Air Base. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP, file)

FILE - In this April 27, 2010 file photo an F-16 airplane lifts off at the US military Airport in Spangdahlem, Germany. The U.S. military says an F-16 fighter jet has crashed in western Germany but the pilot ejected to safety. Police said the plane came down in the Zemmer area, between the city of Trier and the U.S. Air Force's Spangdahlem Air Base. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP, file)

Published Oct 8, 2019

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World - A US military fighter jet crashed on Tuesday near the south-western German city of Trier, leaving its pilot with minor injuries.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed around 3 pm during a routine training excercise, according to a report posted on the website of the Spangdahlem Air Base, to which the aircraft was assigned.

"The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered with minor injuries," the report said. "A board of officers will investigate the accident."

The pilot was hospitalized.

The mayor of the local municipality of Zemmer said the aircraft crashed in a wooded area. 

Trier police said the crash site and surrounding area had been sealed off.

There was no information available on any damage caused by the accident.

Residents were told to steer clear of the crash site.

The incident comes four months after the mid-air collision and crash of two German military jets in the north-east of the country in which one of the two pilots died.

The 52nd Fighter Wing of the US Air Force is stationed at the Spangdahlem Air Base with at least 24 F-16 jets. Around 4,000 US soldiers are also stationed at the base.

IOL

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