An F-16 fighter Jet crashed in Trona, California, on Wednesday during a training exercise for the Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team.
Thankfully, the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft, according to Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada, where the team is stationed.
Video from the scene shows a large fiery plume of smoke following the crash and the pilot parachuting down from the sky.
WATCH:
Nellis Air Force Base said in a press release,
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada — On December 3, 2025, at approximately 10:45a.m., a Thunderbird pilot safely ejected from a F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft during a training mission over controlled airspace in California.
The pilot is in stable condition and receiving follow-on care.
The incident is under investigation and further information will be released from the 57th Wing Public Affairs Office and at https://www.nellis.af.mil/News/News-Releases/.
More from the Los Angeles Times:
The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was in stable condition, according to U.S. Air Force Sgt. Jovante Johnson. The F-16C Fighting Falcon was assigned to the Air Force Thunderbirds, an aerial acrobatic demonstration team based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Johnson said in an email.
The crash took place at around 10:45 a.m. during a training mission, he wrote. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A motorist, Darren Springer, 60, said he was driving south out of Death Valley when he saw an explosion that sent up a thick plume of black smoke. “My heart sank,” he said.
The crash took place about 20 miles from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the Navy’s largest base and a hub for developing and testing weapons.
This is a developing story.
Jordan Conradson, formerly TGP’s Arizona correspondent, is currently on assignment in Washington DC. Jordan has played a critical role in exposing fraud and corruption in Arizona’s elections and elected officials. His reporting on election crimes in Maricopa County led to the resignation of one election official, and he was later banned from the Maricopa County press room for his courage in pursuit of the truth. TGP and Jordan finally gained access after suing Maricopa County, America’s fourth largest county, and winning at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Conradson looks forward to bringing his aggressive style of journalism to the Swamp.
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