An Air Force F-16 fighter jet collided with a Cessna airplane on Tuesday over South Carolina, claiming the lives of the two people, CNN reported.
The Cessna was completely wrecked and both people onboard the aircraft died in the collision, said NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) representative Peter Knudson. The pilot of the F-16 ejected safely and did not suffer any injuries.
The military aircraft pilot, Maj. Aaron Johnson from the 55th Fighter Squadron, was taken to Joint Base Charleston's medical clinic for observation, according to a statement released by Shaw Air Force Base located in Sumter.
"These are very rare," said Lt. Jenny Hyden, a spokeswoman for Shaw, the Associated Press reported. . "Military aircraft and civilian aircraft are not usually flying in the same airspace. When military aircrafts are doing any combat maneuvers, they are in a different airspace that civilian aircrafts are not allowed in."
Col. Stephen Jost, the commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw, said that there are a number of factors that may have caused the crash. The Air Force, NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause of the accident, according to USA Today.
Berkeley County spokesman Michael Mule said the midair collision took place approximately 25 miles north of Charleston shortly after 11:00 a.m. near the Lewisfield Plantation
According to a witness, the F-16 fighter jet broadsided the much smaller Cessna, said Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury. He added that debris from the crash was scattered over a wide area, but officials confirmed at a press conference that most of the debris landed in a marshy area, including a rice field.
The Cessna had just taken off from Berkeley County Airport before the collision and was probably on its way to Myrtle Beach, said Salisbury at a news conference. He said the deceased were local residents but their names were not released, CBS News reported.
