GRAWN — An F-16 fighter jet crashed early Thursday afternoon in a field south of Traverse City where it was consumed by flame and black smoke.
The military jet, known as a Fighting Falcon, went down between two houses near County Road 633 and Blair Townhall Road in Blair Township, according to state and county emergency management and local officials.
The pilot who had ejected safely prior to the crash, was found “conscious and alert,” Blair Township Supervisor Nicole Blonshine said, and was taken to Munson Medical Center.
Later Thursday, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea confirmed during a press briefing that the pilot was at the hospital and speaking to law enforcement officers.
Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, declined to release details about the pilot’s identity or any injuries, citing military policy.
The pilot had been participating in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena when another pilot told air traffic controllers that he believed his wingman hit a bird and crashed, according to audio posted by www.liveatc.net.
“We have a possible Mayday. My wingman I believe may have taken a bird,” the pilot reported. The controller offered to direct him to a nearby airport in Frankfort or Traverse City, but the pilot said his wingman had already crashed.
Gutierrez said he hadn’t heard anything about a possible bird strike, adding that the crash is under investigation. “Once we get some more information and it’s approved, we can release it to you,” he said.
There were no reported injuries to civilians or damage to nearby homes, police said. But the crash triggered the temporary evacuations of 15 people who were in the vicinity when the jet came down.
Emergency officials had first directed nearby residents to shelter in place, but a short time later the Michigan State Police evacuated people within 1 mile because of a hazardous chemical spill related to the crash.
The state police did not release details about the nature of the spill, but F-16 jets use hydrazine, a toxic chemical, as a component of emergency power unit fuel.
The residents were taken to Munson to be checked for exposure to hazardous chemicals that had spilled from the wreckage, police said.
Michael Kroll, a spokesman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the agency was aware of the F-16 crash. The aircraft was attached to the 149th Fighter Wing. Known as the Lone Star Gunfighters, it is an F-16 training unit at Joint Base San Antonio in Lackland, Texas. The wing is a part of the Texas Air National Guard and Texas Military Department.
Texas Military Department said in a statement Thursday that an F-16 Fighting Falcon with the 149th Fighter Wing, Texas Air National Guard, was on a routine training mission from the Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena when it experienced what they called “an incident” in the early afternoon.
“The pilot successfully ejected the aircraft and is receiving care at a nearby hospital,” the Texas Military Department reported. “Emergency responders are on-site. The incident is under investigation.”
In a Sept. 16 Facebook post, the 149th Fighter Wing said its student and instructor pilots were leaving for Michigan to participate in Operation Northern Cactus. “These flights are pivotal in testing our members, from the ground to the air, through organized training and teamwork,” according to the fighter wing post.
The Stars and Stripes reported that the the Texas F-16s had been scheduled to take part in a Friday football game between Alpena and Gaylord as part of POW-MIA Recognition Day.
Nathan Smith was working at a construction site about a mile from the crash. He said he started recording the passing fighter jet because something about its flight path struck him as odd.
“It was strange to see a jet flying that low and slow,” Smith said. “A few seconds after the video cuts, I heard a loud ‘bang,’ which I believe now to be the pilot ejecting, but I didn’t think of that at the time.”
Wendy Sobeck of Blair Township said she was working from home Thursday when a loud crash, followed by an explosion, startled her. She rushed outside, expecting to see that a crash had happened in her front yard.
What she saw were massive plumes of billowing black smoke coming from down the road, she said. Her 65-year-old husband, Fred, jumped in his truck and drove to see what happened, prior to any emergency personnel arriving.
A neighbor saw the pilot parachute out and the plane crash into the field, Sobeck said. “Thankfully, it landed to the side field of the home that’s there, so it didn’t hit any structures. … It was a little scary and a little too close to home.”
Fred Sobeck shot video of the black, billowing smoke when he was at the scene as a police officer shooed away onlookers, telling them the plane contained munitions that could explode, Wendy Sobeck said.
He could see debris in the field beyond the fire, she said. “Guys, I need you out of here. That’s full of munitions. It’s going to blow up in just a minute,” the officer says in the video.
Around 3 p.m., the couple who live in Blair Township, southwest of Traverse City near Chum’s Corner, said they received an order to shelter in place and close all windows and doors to their dwelling, Wendy Sobeck said.
“It was a little bit of an adrenaline rush,” she said. “I’m having not the best day as it was…, but I’m so grateful. We had friends and family calling right away because they know where we live and were worried. It was far enough away from our house but still too close.”
The shelter-in-place order was issued for all nearby residences. Grand Traverse County Emergency Management team issued this statement: “SHELTER IN PLACE order in effect for County Rd 633 From Jefferson PL to Blair Townhall Rd due to plane crash. Shelter indoors, close windows/vents. Follow instructions from emergency personnel. More information to follow. This shelter in place applies to residents in the indicated area ONLY.”
Sen. Gary Peters said he was aware of the crash and awaiting more information from authorities at the scene. “I am closely monitoring the situation as we work to get more information on the incident,” Peters said. “Praying that the pilot and folks on the ground are safe.”
The military began flying the first F-16s in 1979. There have been at least 14 “Class A mishaps” involving F-16s since 2000, according to the Air Force Safety Center. The Class A mishap designation is generally used when the damage totals more than $2 million, when an aircraft is destroyed or when a service member is killed.
In December, an F-16C Fighting Falcon with the Air Force’s elite Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert, and the pilot in that crash was also able to eject safely.
The last F-16 crash in Michigan occurred in December 2020. The plane went down north of the Garden Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula, near the border of Delta and Schoolcraft counties in the Hiawatha National Forest.
The pilot died at the scene. That F-16 was on a training mission as part of the Wisconsin National Guard.