MANISTIQUE, Mich. – An F16 fighter flown by the Wisconsin Air Guard crashed near Camp Lake Seven in the heavily wooded Hiawatha National Forest. The pilot was missing. The crash was inland from Big Bay du Noc on Lake Michigan, roughly midway between Manistique and Escanaba. The plane was from the 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field near Madison. The single-seat plane was on a daylight training mission. The Guard dispatched ground and air teams to secure the ctash site and search for the pilot. The Coast Guard was asked to search Lake Michigan. Delta County sheriff’s officers and other local emergency responders also were working out of the Camp Lake Seven campground.
115th Squadron. Its F16s fly out of Dane County airport near Madison.
Idaho ejection. An accident at Mountain Home Air Force Base in 2003 demonstrates the F16’s pilot ejection system.
F16 Falcon profile
A single-engine 9,500-pound thrust craft introduced in 1978. Capable of 900 mph. Variations flown by the Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team since 1983. Number built: 4,600, with many provided to U.S. allies Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Holland, Israel, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Turkey. The U.S. Air Force plans to complete phasing out F16s by 2025, replacing them with F-35s. F16s remain in Air Guard squadrons in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin. It’s called the Viper by crews because of its long narrow shape. Depending on the variation, the Air Force paid manufacturer Lockheed $14 million to $18 million per plane.