F-16 crashes

By Oriana Pawlyk and Phillip Swarts
June 2, 2016

The F-16, assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, crashed around 1 p.m. and Turner was recovered by local first responders, said Master Sgt. Chrissy Best, a Thunderbirds spokeswoman. Turner ejected south of the Colorado Springs airport.

The crash posed no hazard to the public, Best said. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Thunderbirds’ website says Turner has logged over 1,200 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 270 combat hours over Libya and Iraq.

When asked whether the pilot steered the aircraft towards the empty field deliberately, Best said, “Any time a pilot ejects we always try to go down into an unpopulated area.”

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