American F-16 Crashes Over Michigan: Latest of Many Serious Fighter Accidents in 2020

An F-16 Fighting Falcon single engine fighter jet from the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing crashed over Michigan in the evening of December 8th. The incident is one of a very high number of crashes which occurred in 2020 affecting fighters from units across the U.S. Military and the Air Force in particular, involving both older jets such as the F-16 and new designs such as the F-22 and F-35. The cause of this spate of accidents is currently under investigation with no concrete findings having been publicised. A release from the 115th Fighter Wing stated:

“At the time of the incident, the aircraft was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board. Emergency responders are on scene. The cause of the crash, as well as the status of the pilot, are unknown at this time, and the incident is under investigation.”

The F-16 first entered service in the U.S. Military in 1978 - a date closer to the Second World War that it is to the present - with the design increasingly considered obsolete and being phased out of service in a number of countries. The fighter is still in low level production for export to countries which are unable for either economic or political reasons to acquire more advanced aircraft, with Taiwan, Bahrain and Slovakia having recently placed orders.