A Texas Air National Guard pilot was forced to eject from a fighter jet during a “mishap” Thursday in Michigan, officials said.
The pilot, who is with the 149th Fighter Wing based at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, was flying a routine training mission in an F-16, when the unspecified mishap occurred seven miles south of Grand Traverse, Michigan, Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing, told Fox News Digital.
The pilot ejected before the crash and is in stable condition, officials said.
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No further information about the crash or the pilot was disclosed.
“I’m aware of the plane crash near Traverse City,” U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., wrote on social media. “I am closely monitoring the situation as we work to get more information on the incident. I am praying that the pilot and folks on the ground are safe.”
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Video footage posted to X shows black smoke rising into the sky from what is presumably the crash site.
The Grand Traverse Emergency Management Agency ordered everyone within a mile of the site to evacuate the area.
“Evacuate away from the intersection of Co Rd 633 and Jefferson Pl. Follow instructions from emergency personnel,” the agency said.
The 149th Fighter Wing says student and instructor pilots were heading to Michigan to take part in Operation Northern Cactus out of the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, The Associated Press reported.
