Military F-16 fighter jet crashes and bursts into flames in Michigan during training exercise

A US military F-16 fighter jet crashed in northern Michigan during a training exercise Thursday afternoon, with the pilot ejecting, officials reported. The Texas Military Department said the F-16 belonged to the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing and was doing a routine training mission from a National Guard base in Alpena, Michigan, when it crashed in Grand Traverse County. “The pilot successfully ejected from the aircraft,” the department said. “We have a possible mayday by wingman. I believe (they) may have taken a bird,” a military pilot alerted air traffic controllers, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net. The cause of the crash has not been determined and the military said it is investigating. Video shared with CNN showed a fireball in a field next to homes and a large smoke plume in a rural community south of Traverse City, about 130 miles north of Grand Rapids.