An F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed during a training flight immediately following its takeoff from a Houston airfield Wednesday morning, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement.
The incident took place around 9:30 a.m. local time. The pilot was able to safely eject himself from the plane and was evaluated at a local medical facility.
The aircraft was part of the 138th Fighter Wing and stationed at the Ellington Field Joint Reserves Base in Texas.
The plane was operating under NORAD’s authority.
An F-16 under direction of #NORAD crashed @ Ellington Airport approx 9:30MDT. Pilot safely ejected & is being evaluated by medical personnel pic.twitter.com/gtoF2O9Oj5
— NORAD & USNORTHCOM (@NoradNorthcom) June 21, 2017
