A United States Air Force F-16 crashed on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, near Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, and the pilot ejected before impact, according to the base’s statement carried by the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle.

The aircraft, an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, went down at about 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. UTC-4), and the cause is under investigation. “The pilot ejected safely and is receiving medical care,” the base said. The Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm said one person was injured and sent emergency crews to the site. Germany’s air traffic control authority said four F-16s were taking part in a training exercise and that one of the two returning to the base crashed on approach, according to GV Wire; the others landed at Ramstein Air Base, according to India Today. Spangdahlem is home to an F-16 squadron of about 20 aircraft. The crash comes five days after another F-16, from the Texas Air National Guard, went down in Michigan on September 17, 2026, during a training mission, according to Quartz.