Plane Went Down Late Monday Night

An F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed at the Utah Test and Training Range around 2225 Monday, and Hill Air Force Base emergency responders are conducting a search for the pilot.

No contact has been made with the pilot, and base officials located the F-16 crash site in a remote area of the Utah Test and Training Range.

The F-16 was on a routine training mission and is assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB.

A board of Air Force officials will convene to determine the cause of the incident.

Hill Air Force Base is an Air Force Materiel Command base located in northern Utah. Hill is home to many operational and support missions, with the Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) serving as the host organization. The center provides worldwide engineering and logistics management for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The base performs depot maintenance of the F-16, A-10 and C-130 Hercules aircraft.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the F-16 has been a major component of the combat forces committed to the Global War on Terrorism flying thousands of sorties in support of operations Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense), Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom.

FMI: www.af.mil