The Air Force is investigating the nighttime collision of two F-16s over Jefferson County, Georgia on June 7. Both pilots, from the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard, ejected safely and were found shortly after the accident. Crews were dispatched to look for the wreckage of the fighters in the dense woods underlying the Bulldog Military Operations Area. One jet was found early on, while it took until the following afternoon to find the wreckage of the second. The collision occurred about 9:15 p.m. There were no injuries on the ground. During a detailed press conference, officials asked area residents to report finding debris from the aircraft, but to refrain from touching anything.
“The main wreckage is in a couple-hundred-square-yard area, but we are finding wreckage as far as three miles away,” the wing commander said in an Augusta Chronicle report. “It will take until we find it. I don’t have a guess – two days, two weeks. We are prepared for the long haul.” The pilots, instructors with combat experience, were flying routine but “complex” training maneuvers with night vision goggles, officials said during the press conference.
