Air Force F-16 fighter jet down in Florida Panhandle, pilot rescued

From CNN National Security Producer Chris Plante

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon has crashed near Panama City in the Florida Panhandle, according to Air Force officials who said the pilot ejected safely and has been rescued by an Air Force helicopter crew.

The condition of the pilot was not immediately known, nor was the specific location of the crash, according to spokesmen at Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Search and rescue helicopters from Tyndall Air Force Base were dispatched in an effort to recover the pilot before the Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene.

The jet was flying from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida when the accident occurred but was assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The crash occurred about 1:50 p.m., according to Air Force Capt. John Hutchison of the Air Combat Command.

The F-16 comes in a single-seat and two-seat versions and costs about $20 million.

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U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon
Air Force Link Gallery: F-16 Fighting Falcon

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