US F-16 Crashes in Michigan After Suspected Bird Strike

A Texas Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet crashed Thursday during a training flight in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. The pilot, who was alone in the aircraft, successfully ejected before impact and is in stable condition.

The crash occurred around 2:00 p.m. local time as the aircraft participated in a training exercise at Alpena base. Radio transmissions captured by LiveATC.net, a global service that broadcasts air traffic control recordings, included a distress call: "We have a mayday, looks like the engine lost power and the pilot ejected."

Another military pilot in the area reported to air traffic controllers: "I estimate their aircraft was hit by a bird. Looks like they lost an engine and ejected, but we're seeing a lot of black smoke, which we estimate is coming from the F-16 that crashed."

According to the Associated Press, the aircraft belongs to the Texas Air National Guard and had traveled to Michigan as part of a training exercise. CNN reported that a fireball was observed in a field near residential homes in the area. No one besides the pilot was injured, and he is being treated in stable condition at a local hospital, police confirmed.

Following the crash, all residents within approximately one mile of the area were evacuated due to what was described as a "hazardous chemical leak related to the aircraft crash." Additionally, all Texas Air National Guard aircraft that were in Michigan for the training exercise were immediately grounded.

Shelley Dornbos and her husband, who were driving home when they saw the fireball, told CNN: "We could hear echoes of explosions. We asked a police officer what we were hearing while driving, and he told us it was a fighter jet crash and the explosions we were hearing were ammunition." Fred Sobeck, 65, told the AP that he was driving down the road and saw "a huge fireball in a field" near homes.

The U.S. military has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the crash. CNN noted that if the aircraft was indeed struck by a bird, it would not be an unusual occurrence, thousands of aircraft are struck by birds and other wildlife in the United States each year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wildlife strike database. In Traverse City alone, the location of the crash, 41 strikes were reported in 2025.