Watch: US Thunderbirds F-16 erupts in flames near Trona Airport; video shows pilot drifting by parachute

An F-16 fighter jet assigned to the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the service’s elite aerial demonstration team, went down Wednesday morning in a Southern California desert.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Officials said the jet went down around 10:45 a.m. during a training flight in controlled airspace.


Video posted to X by DisasterAlert shows the pilot making what appears to be a lucky escape, drifting slowly toward the ground beneath a parachute.



Later military officials said the pilot ejected just before impact and survived.

The pilot was listed in stable condition and is receiving medical treatment, Staff Sgt. Jovante Johnson, an Air Force spokesperson, confirmed in an email Wednesday, New York Times reported.

A rocket-like blast in a barren desert backdrop.
A wide plume of dark smoke was visible after the plane went down near Trona Airport in San Bernardino County. The jet was part of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the military’s official aerial demonstration team, according to the social media post. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

The approximate cost of a US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon is around $20 million. “A Thunderbird pilot ejected safely from an F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft during a training mission over controlled airspace in California,” a release from the US Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron said.



The Thunderbirds operate out of Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, roughly 200 miles east of where the crash occurred.

The team is renowned for its high-risk aerial stunts and razor-sharp precision, thrilling millions of spectators since its formation in 1953.

During certain maneuvers — with names like the opposing knife-edge pass and the delta loop — the F-16 jets fly as close as 18 inches apart.