An F-16C fighter jet belonging to the United States Air Force crashed near Zemmer, close to the German border with Luxembourg, on October 8, 2019. The aircraft was on a training flight involving several other F-16s at the time of the incident.
The aircraft, serial number CC-33, was part of the 480th Fighter Squadron, also known as the “Warhawks”, attached to the 52nd Fighter Wing based in Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It crashed in a wooded area near the village of Zemmer, north of Trier. “The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered with minor injuries,” said the 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs office in a press release. The police of Trier closed down several roads around the crash site while emergency services carried out the rescue operation, which was eventually taken over by USAF personnel.
Before the crash, the transponder of the F-16 callsign Warhawk 11 squawked a code 7700, which corresponds to a distress signal. A board of US officers will investigate the incident.
On September 19, 2019, a Belgian F-16 fighter jet crashed near Pluvigner, western France. The two pilots managed to eject. One of the pilots had to be recovered after his parachute got caught up in a high-voltage line.
