F-16C Crash during a dog fight, June 28, 2011


First two photos by "Scout Holaday", with friendly permission. Clean-up photos by an anonymous source, with friendly permission.

An F-16C of the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB crashed on June 28, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. during a simulated dogfight between two aircraft during a combat training mission. The mission was described as "dissimilar air combat tactics," a type of training in which different types of fighter jets fly against each other. The crash site is located in rugged terrain in Pahroc Valley, 20 miles west of Caliente in Lincoln County. It is outside the Nevada Test and Training Range but within the Caliente Military Operations Area (Caliente MOA).

Air Force Capt. Eric Ziegler, the pilot and the only person on board, did not eject and was killed on impact.

Update 10/28/2011: The three photos at the bottom show a memorial for Captain Ziegler that was put up at the point of impact by his friends and fellow airmen from Nellis Air Force Base, NV.

Related links:



Rescue helicopter at the crash site

Crash site clean-up basecamp

Part of the aircraft may be under the tarp

Impact crater

Wing pod embedded in the ground

Turbine blades

Memorial for Captain Ziegler
at the point of impact

"Tomahawks" AMU of 16th Weapons
Squadron, USAF Weapons School

422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron
"Green Bats" of Nellis AFB


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