Pilot safe after F-16 crashes near Key West - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Pilot safe after F-16 crashes near Key West

KEY WEST, Fla. — An F-16 fighter plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday evening during a routine training mission, a spokesman for Homestead Air Reserve Base said.

The plane went into waters west of Key West at about 7:30 p.m., said spokesman Tim Norton. The plane’s pilot, whose name has not been released, ejected from the aircraft and was picked up by a Navy helicopter.

Norton said the pilot was taken to a Key West hospital and was released hours later.

The pilot is assigned to the 482nd Fighter Wing, based in Homestead, Norton said.

Authorities are investigating the crash.