On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, the U.S. Air Force’s 52nd Fighter Wing public affairs office reported that at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time, a U.S. F-16CM Block 50 multirole fighter assigned to Spangdahlem Air Base crashed while approaching to land near its home base in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The pilot successfully ejected and was taken to a hospital.
Photo: USAF
The F-16CM, serial number 96-0083 and tactical code CC-205, assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron “Warhawks,” crashed approximately 400 meters from the threshold of Runway 04 at Spangdahlem Air Base. The pilot ejected and sustained minor injuries, while the aircraft was destroyed. No ground personnel were injured.
Emergency services from the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm, the local administrative district that includes Spangdahlem Air Base, were deployed to the crash site on the base, the district’s press office said in a separate statement.
The aircraft was part of a formation of four F-16CMs conducting a routine training flight. Two aircraft remained in the training area, while the other two were returning to base. Immediately after the accident, the remaining three aircraft were diverted to Ramstein Air Base, located about 88 km to the southeast, where they landed safely.
The cause of the accident has not been made public. An investigation is underway.
The aircraft entered service in August 1999 with the U.S. Air Force’s 23rd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base. In June 2006, it was deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On August 13, 2010, it was assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron and subsequently took part in Operation Odyssey Dawn over Libya on March 19, 2011.
The F-16CM/DM Block 50/52 is a modernized version of the F-16CG/DG Block 40/42 and is a specialized variant designed for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. U.S. Air Force squadrons equipped with these aircraft are commonly referred to as Wild Weasel units.
This was another crash involving a U.S. F-16 in recent days. On September 17, an F-16C assigned to the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing, normally based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, crashed near Blair Township in Grand Traverse County in northern Michigan. The pilot also ejected safely.
An F-16 fighter jet has reportedly crashed at the U.S. Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany on Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses reported seeing a jet rapidly descend before a large column of black smoke appeared near the runway.
Local reports say two aircraft had taken off and… pic.twitter.com/MB4S6zKQm5
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 22, 2026
