Royal Thai Air Force General Dynamics F-16A operated by 103 Sqn, Airwing 1, crashed in Chatturat, Chaiyaphum after a technical malfunction.
The pilot ejected safely and the aircraft was destroyed.
Air Force spokesman AVM Prapas Sonjaidee said the accident happened at 1.40 pm in the Chaturas district of Chaiyaphum province.
Prapas said the F-16A plane, bearing No. 10331, belonged to the103rd fleet of the Air Wing 1. It was the first plane of the Flying Unit 2 of the fleet.
Prapas said the fighter jet developed a malfunction during training. The pilot managed to exit and landed safely in a parachute.
The spokesman added that a rescue operation team of the Air Force reached the site and rescued the pilot after the accident.
Prapas said an aviation accident probe committee of the RTAF would visit the crash site to investigate the cause of the crash.
Prapas conveyed the RTAF’s thanks to local people and rescue volunteers who came to the assistance of the pilot, but he urged the public to stay away from the crash site.
Last December, one F-5 fighter jet, of the 211st Air Wing, crashed while on a weapons training exercise in Chai Badan district of Lop Buri. It is believed that the crash was caused by a bird strike, later identified as an open-billed stork
