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An F-16 fighter jet crashed in a field near Luke Air Force Base Wednesday evening, but both pilots were able to eject themselves from the plane and avoid injury.
According to an Air Force spokesman, the pilots “were conducting a routine training mission,” and the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Now that several million bucks have been flushed down the toilet, there doesn’t appear to be a video of the actual impact of the plane — at least, one that’s being shared with the public — although a couple of videos do exist of the plane before it went down and the subsequent smoke plume.
Check out those videos below (heads up on the second one if you have epilepsy or sensitive ears, the guy’s shaking the camera and drops a few f-bombs):
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There also was a guy out near the crash who took some photos of the scene. In one photo, you can actually see the two pilots parachuting. Check those out below:
In a case of exceptional timing, the Air Force had planned a press conference for today to announce that 72 additional F-35A Lightning II aircraft are coming to the base, to make the base a training center for that aircraft’s prospective pilots.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
