Nellis incidents take toll

At a rate of nearly one per year for the past 16 years, an F-16 jet from Nellis Air Force Base has crashed or has been involved in a mishap, archives from the Review-Journal show.

Inherently, some of the crashes are related to aerial combat training exercises or training flights that take place routinely over the sprawling Nellis range. Others are linked to the risks involved with the Thunderbirds, the Air Force aerial demonstration team which is based at Nellis.

In all, there are roughly 80 F-16s stationed at Nellis in its weapons school, aggressor squadron, test units, fighter squadrons and the aerial demonstration team, a base spokesman said Wednesday.

At least 13 crashes or mishaps involving F-16s from Nellis Air Force Base have occurred since 1991. Eight of them occurred between 1991 and 1994. They are:

• March 13, 2007: The pilot of an F-16C Falcon ejected safely near the Tonopah Test Range Airfield before the jet crashed on its approach.

• Aug. 20, 2005: A pair of Thunderbirds touched in a midair maneuver and sent a missile rail from one plane into Lake Michigan during the Chicago air show.

• March 18, 2005: A Nellis pilot ejected safely before his F-16C fighter jet crashed at the base as he tried to land it following a malfunction shortly after take-off.

• Sept. 14, 2003: A Thunderbirds' F-16 exploded in a fireball on impact during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The pilot thought he was about 1,000 feet higher than his aircraft actually was when he began what's called a "split-S" maneuver after takeoff.

• Aug. 8, 2000: A pair of Nellis F-16s collided in midair during a training mission over the Nellis range, causing one of the planes to crash after the pilot ejected safely. The other pilot flew his fighter jet back to the base and landed without incident.

• Feb. 14, 1994: A Thunderbirds pilot was injured when his F-16 crashed after he executed one more spiral turn than planned near the Indian Springs airfield.

• Nov. 8, 1993: A pilot was killed when his F-16 crashed on the Nellis range complex, 35 miles west of Alamo.

• Aug. 10, 1993: A Nellis pilot was killed when his F-16 crashed during a joint Army, Navy, Air Force training mission on the range, 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

• May 18, 1993: The pilot of an F-16 from Nellis ejected before the plane crashed, near Glendale, 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

• May 31, 1992: An F-16 pilot ejected from his aircraft before it crashed near Pahrump.

• Oct. 7, 1991: A Nellis pilot was killed when his F-16 crashed during a training mission 20 miles west of Rachel in Lincoln County.

• July 31, 1991: A pilot from Hill Air Force, Utah, was killed when his F-16D fighter jet crashed on a training mission northeast of Ely in White Pine County.

• Jan. 28, 1991: A Nellis pilot ejected before his F-16 jet crashed in a remote area 75 miles north of Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0308.