Military: Pilot ditched plane in woods to miss nearby homes
CLINTON, Md. — A fighter pilot on a training mission ditched his jet in a wooded area Wednesday so that the plane would avoid crashing into a suburban Washington neighbourhood, the military said.
The F-16C, which military officials said was at least 30 years old and worth $20 million, went down about 200 yards behind a small subdivision of two-story brick homes in the middle-class suburban community of Clinton, about 3 miles (5 kilometres) southwest of Joint Base Andrews.
The pilot was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital, said Lt. Col. Michael Corker, the pilot’s commanding officer. No one else was injured.
The pilot, whose name was not released, is with the District of Columbia Air National Guard and was flying one of four fighter jets from Maryland to a shooting range in Pennsylvania for a training exercise when the crash happened.