A pilot is still missing after the flier’s fighter jet crashed in the mountains of western Virginia Wednesday morning. The pilot and jet are with the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
An F-15C Eagle fighter jet based at Barnes National Guard facility in Massachusetts crashed Wednesday into a national forest in central Virginia after reporting an in-flight emergency and losing radio contact, officials said. The the status of the pilot was not immediately known, according to USAF spokesperson Maj. Candice Ismirle. The fighter jet, from the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is a one-person aircraft.
Pilot unaccounted for after National Guard fighter jet crashes in Virginia
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The Pentagon report the F-15-C Eagle fighter jet was en route to Louisiana from Barnes AGB in Westfield, Mass. The pilot reported an inflight emergency. No radio contact was made after the declaration of the inflight emergency.
At least on witness reported seeing an ejection from the jet with a parachute deployed, according to emergency police/fire radio scanner traffic. Rescue crews were searching the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest near Deerfield, Va.
Aerial and ground search is underway, while rescuers have reached the crash site — reporting debris and smoke.
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