A General Dynamics F-16CM-40-CF Fighting Falcon, operated by South Dakota Air National Guard 114th Fighter Wing, 175 Fighter Squadron, overran runway 15 on landing at Sioux Falls Regional Airport (Jo Foss Field) (FSD/KFSD), South Dakota, resulting in substantial damage.
An unverified image of the fighter jet, based out of the 114th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls, began circulating online.
The Air National Guard issued a statement about the incident on Facebook shortly after the picture was posted, explaining that the aircraft “went off the end of Runway 15 at Joe Foss Field.”
The jet’s landing gear appeared to have collapsed and its nose separated from its body. Its canopy was open but not gone — indicating the pilot climbed out once on the ground at Joe Foss Field, where the wing is based at the Sioux Falls airport.
The crew and pilot were safe, emergency crews came to the scene and the Air National Guard is investigating the incident, according to the 114th Fighter Wing. No details are being released about the pilot.
“Even though we train to do this every day, there is still risk involved. We are grateful that no one was harmed in this incident,” Col. Mark Morrell, the 114th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement.
In March, another F-16 assigned to the Oklahoma National Guard crashed in Louisiana while conducting training out of Texas. Its pilot safely ejected.
The Air Force suffered three F-16 mishaps in fiscal 2021, including one that destroyed the airplane and killed its pilot, according to the Air Force Safety Center. About three Fighting Falcons have been totaled each year on average for the past decade.
The service owns about 900 F-16C/D airframes, which have flown since the 1980s. Each jet cost $19 million in 1998 dollars, the Air Force said, or more than $30 million now.
