Thunderbirds pilot ejected safely from F-16 crash during California training

The pilot of a U.S. Air Drive Thunderbirds F-16C ejected safely Wednesday throughout a coaching mission in California — leaving the airman in secure situation as officers started investigating the crash, the 57th Wing mentioned.

“On December 3, 2025, at roughly 10:45 a.m., a Thunderbird pilot ejected safely from an F-16C Preventing Falcon plane throughout a coaching mission over managed airspace in California,” the Thunderbirds mentioned in an announcement on social media. “The pilot is in secure situation and receiving follow-up care. The incident is underneath investigation and additional data shall be launched by the 57th Wing Public Affairs Workplace.”

San Bernardino County Hearth Division officers mentioned on X that items responded to a reported plane emergency close to the San Bernardino-Inyo county line round 11:10 a.m.

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When crews arrived, they assisted Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake emergency personnel in extinguishing a hearth from the downed plane in a dry lakebed close to Trona.

The pilot, who was the only real occupant, was handled for non-life-threatening accidents and brought to a close-by hospital.

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The Air Drive Thunderbirds carry out in the course of the 2024 Legacy of Liberty Airshow at Holloman Air Drive Base in Alamogordo, NM (Invoice Chizek, Getty Photographs)

The Thunderbirds, primarily based at Nellis Air Drive Base in Nevada, are the Air Drive’s premier aerial demonstration crew and carry out a number of the service’s most demanding precision maneuvers.

The squadron flies F-16C Preventing Falcons in tightly choreographed formations that require year-round coaching and intensive flight hours to take care of.

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The U.S. Air Drive Thunderbirds carry out a flyover previous to the beginning of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway, Feb. 19, 2023, in Daytona Seashore, Florida.

Pilots come from operational fighter squadrons and sometimes have fight expertise earlier than becoming a member of the unit.

They spend two years on excursions with the demonstration crew earlier than returning to lively fight assignments, and their annual schedule contains dozens of air reveals throughout the nation as a part of the Air Drive’s recruiting and group mission.

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The Thunderbirds have skilled accidents throughout coaching up to now, together with a 2018 crash close to Nellis Air Drive Base that killed Maj. Stephen Del Bagno throughout a routine coaching flight.

Fox Information Digital beforehand reported that the Air Drive performed a security assessment following the incident, which discovered that the fast-paced, high-G nature of the crew’s routines poses inherent dangers, even in managed environments.