US Air Force fighter jet crashes as video goes viral

WASHINGTON: A US Air Force Fighting Falcon jet crashed on Thursday during a training exercise of which the footage went viral on social networking.

The US Air Force jet went down during training in California, as shown in the viral video. The F-16C Fighting Falcon that crashed belonged to the renowned Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team of the US Air Force, according to international news agencies.

The crash occurred at 10:45AM in the morning on December 3. However, the pilot managed to eject safely. Meanwhile, the pilot was found injured and shifted to a hospital for medical treatment.

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The viral video shows the aircraft plummeting to the ground, with subsequent smoke – as seen the video– rising from the crash site.

The US Air Force launched an investigation into the incident immediately after receiving reports of the Fighting Falcon tragic incident.

A fire department spokesperson said that the emergency call about the accident came in the morning, after which firefighting operations began.

Local authorities said the fire was contained before it could spread, preventing any damage to nearby residents or the surrounding area.

This is not the first time that the world is seeing fighter jets are falling onto the earth, as the world also saw when an Indian jet had fallen to the earth in November.

The jet named as HAL Tejas had crashed around 2:10 PM local time during a demonstration flight at Al Maktoum International Airport, shocking the onlookers at the Dubai World Central venue.

Terrible News of India’s Tejas crashing in Dubai Air show. No ejection by pilot spotted. Heartbreaking scene. Via @zone5aviation

pic.twitter.com/Uq6paQcIG1

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) November 21, 2025

Thick black smoke rose from the crash site as emergency sirens echoed across the airfield. Spectators watched in shock as rescue crews rushed to the scene.

It was not immediately known whether the pilot managed to eject before impact. Authorities have not yet released further details on casualties or the cause of the crash.