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Jed Boal ReportingAn F-16 jet fighter from Hill Air Force Base goes down in training, the pilot ejects safely and the crash investigation begins.
Col. James Post, Vice Commander 388th Fighter Wing: "We have no idea what happened at this time."
The F-16 was on a training mission with three other jets when something went wrong and the pilot ejected. The 388th Fighter Wing says the jet crashed around two o'clock, approximately 30 miles west of Hill Air Force Base.
Flying jet fighters is dangerous in battle or in training. Pilots have crashed and died in the Utah Test and Training range numerous times, but it's been several years. The Fighter Wing is glad this pilot came home alive.
The 388th Fighter Wing's 421st Fighter Squadron trains regularly for an upcoming deployment. Four F-16 single-seater fighters were training for close support of ground troops over the northern Utah Test and Training Range. As they were returning to the Air Force Base, something went wrong with one of the jets.
Col. James Post: "Unfortunately, that aircraft did not make it home. He was able to eject from the aircraft and get safely back on the ground."
The pilot was airlifted to the hospital. He is safe and had an extensive physical exam to make sure he was not hurt when ejected.
The aircraft went down in a muddy tidal area along one of the islands in the Great Salt Lake. The Vice Commander of the 388th talked with the pilot and says he knew something was wrong, so the pilot ran through checklists of potential solutions, but the situation got worse.
Col. James Post: "There isn't a whole lot of time to do anything other than go on rote memory, things that we practice monthly in preparation for something similar to this."
If the engine does not give the pilot enough thrust to stay at least 2,000 feet off the ground and in control, the commander says the pilot is trained to eject. F-16's typically fly between 230 and 350 miles per hour.
Col. James Post: "He was able to walk. He has bumps and bruises. And he's undergoing a thorough investigation."
The Air Force Wing has not identified the pilot yet. F-16's cost more than 20 million dollars.
It will likely take months to complete the investigation.
Flying a fighter jet is inherently dangerous, even outside a warzone.
Senator Orrin Hatch's website shows 7,000 F-16's fly missions over the Utah Test and Training range each year. In 20 years, 70 F-16's have gone down in the west desert.
Two F-16's collided over the test range in October of 2002. One pilot died, the other survived. A month later, another pilot died when his F-16 crashed. A year earlier, a pilot was able to eject and survive the crash of his F-16.
The worst stretch goes back to 1998 when five F-16's from Hill crashed. In those crashes just one pilot died when his jet went down west of Great Salt Lake.
