A pilot was hospitalized after a Thunderbird F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed during an Air Force training mission Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Trona in rural San Bernardino County, military officials said
Fire officials responded along with the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake to the aircraft emergency near the San Bernardino County and Inyo County line, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Crews helped suppress a fire in the dry lake bed area near Trona that started after the plane crash.
The pilot, the only occupant of the plane, ejected from the Thunderbird F-16C Fighting Falcon around 10:45 a.m. during a training mission over controlled airspace in California, according to the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
They were treated and taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, the Fire Department said.
Fire officials asked the public to avoid the area but said there is no threat to surrounding vegetation or the community.
No further details were immediately available. The crash remains under investigation.