Phoenix:
A U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed in New Mexico during a routine training mission on Wednesday but the pilot was able to eject safely, military officials said.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon went down in a remote, rugged area northwest of Salinas Peak, near the city of Truth or Consequences, at about 8:45 a.m. after taking off from Holloman Air Force Base, the officials said.
The $25 million jet was not carrying any live ordnance at the time, the officials said, and no one on the ground was hurt.
The pilot was in good condition when he was found by an emergency response team and was taken to a local medical facility for evaluation, said Holloman spokesman Arlan Ponder.
He was identified only as a first lieutenant assigned to the 314th Fighter Squadron.
Officials said the single-seat F-16 had been flying in military airspace over the White Sands Missile Range. The crash site is about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of the base.
An Air Force team will investigate the cause of the crash, Ponder said. Meanwhile, all flying operations from Holloman have ceased and will resume after the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.
The plane is part of the 54th Fighter Group from Luke Air Force Base in near Phoenix, Arizona, but was among two squadrons of F-16s relocated to the New Mexico base to make room at Luke for newer F-35 fighters.
© Thomson Reuters 2015