F-16C jet suffers in-flight emergency, lands safely at Aviano
By Rachel S. Cohen
Mar 4, 05:58 PM
A U.S. Air Force pilot safely landed their F-16C Fighting Falcon jet in Italy after suffering an in-flight emergency on Wednesday afternoon, prompting buildings near the runway to lock down.
“Aviano Air Base’s emergency response teams responded and secured the area. All other base operations have returned to normal,” spokesperson Natalie Stanley said in an email Friday. She did not provide details on the nature of the problem or whether the pilot or plane were damaged.
The Italian publication Veneto Messenger posted a photo of a jet nose-down in the grass, though the fighter appears largely unscathed and the cockpit is intact. A standard air-to-air combat load of two AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, two heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and two 370-gallon fuel tanks are attached to its wings, said Heritage Foundation defense expert John Venable, a retired Air Force colonel who flew F-16s.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/03/04/f-16c-jet-suffers-in-flight-emergency-lands-safely-at-aviano/
