fighter pilot

20 Stories

F-16 Just Delivered by US Crashes During Russian Attack

Star Ukrainian pilot who had lobbied for fighter jets' delivery in Washington is killed

(Newser) - An F-16 helping to fight off a Russian missile attack crashed, killing a celebrated Ukrainian pilot, weeks after the US delivered a half-dozen of the fighter jets. Oleksiy Mes was among the first Ukrainian pilots trained to fly an F-16, the Wall Street Journal reports, and had visited the US...

Pilot Dies in Crash of World War II-Era Spitfire

Flights of wartime aircraft are scheduled in England to mark upcoming anniversary of D-Day

(Newser) - A World War II-era Spitfire fighter plane crashed near a British air force base in eastern England on Saturday, killing the pilot, the UK defense ministry said. The ministry confirmed the death of a Royal Air Force pilot "in a tragic accident" near RAF Coningsby, an airbase. There was...

Air Force Pilot Ejects Before F-16 Crashes Into Sea

Pilot experienced unspecified emergency off coast of South Korea

(Newser) - A US Air Force pilot safely ejected on Monday before his F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea off South Korea's southwestern coast, US and South Korean military officials said. The unidentified pilot was recovered by South Korean maritime forces and was "awake and in stable condition,"...

Pilot Parachuted Into Backyard After Ditching Fighter Jet

Many questions remain regarding Sunday's incident

(Newser) - The pilot of a $100 million stealth fighter jet parachuted safely into the backyard of a home in South Carolina after a malfunction forced him to eject from the aircraft, causing the plane to crash into a wooded area about 60 miles away, the AP reports. A US Marine Corps...

Pilot's Ejection Caught on Camera After Fighter Jet Crash

Pilot is OK after slow-moving accident at Texas military base

(Newser) - The pilot of a fighter jet that crash-landed in Texas will be fine after ejecting from the plane after it hit the ground. The Washington Post describes the "bizarre slow-moving crash" that took place Thursday morning at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, where a spectator captured...

Navy Fighter Jet Crashes, Killing Pilot

F/A-18E Super Hornet went down Friday in Southern California desert

(Newser) - A Navy fighter jet crashed Friday in the Southern California desert, killing the pilot, authorities said. An F/A-18E Super Hornet based at Naval Air Station Lemoore went down at about 2:30pm in the area of Trona, an unincorporated Mojave Desert community in San Bernardino County, the Navy announced in...

Lawyer: Pilot Was Strapped to Target in Terrifying Hazing

French fighter pilot had a hood over his head as munitions were dropped, lawyer says

(Newser) - A French fighter pilot says that when he arrived at a new unit, colleagues hazed him by putting a hood over his head, throwing him in the back of a pickup truck, driving around 30 minutes away, and attaching him to a pole. He says that when he heard the...

US Navy Gets Its First Black Female Fighter Pilot
A New First for the US Navy
Aug 2, 2020 12:10 PM CDT

A New First for the US Navy

Meet Lieutenant Madeline Swegle, the Navy's first Black female fighter pilot

(Newser) - Lieutenant Madeline Swegle made headlines Friday by becoming the first Black female tactical aircraft pilot in US Navy history, CBS News reports. The trailblazer received her Wings of Gold along with 25 classmates at a graduation ceremony at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas. "I'm excited to...

US Fighter Pilot Missing After Crash Into North Sea

F-15C Eagle went down off the coast of England

(Newser) - Rescue crews are searching for an American pilot after an Air Force fighter jet crashed off the coast of England on Monday morning, reports the BBC . The F-15C Eagle went down in the North Sea during a training mission, per the AP . The plane took off from a Royal Air...

Pakistan Keeps Promise, Lets Indian Fighter Pilot Go

Abhinandan Varthaman upon returning to India: 'It is good to be back'

(Newser) - Imran Khan has kept his promise. On Thursday, Pakistan's prime minister vowed to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who'd been captured after his MiG-21 jet was shot down Wednesday by a Pakistani fighter over the disputed Kashmir territory. And on Friday, Khan made good, with video showing the...

Boy With Metal Detector Hits WWII-Era Jackpot

Danish teen and dad find German WWII fighter plane, remains of pilot

(Newser) - Young boys tend not to forget fantastical stories told by their grandpas, especially if those stories involve downed World War II fighter planes. Klaus Kristiansen of Denmark apparently couldn't get the tale his own grandfather had told him out of his head—that an aircraft had crashed behind their...

US Aviation Hero Who Escaped Nazis in Their Own Plane Dies

Bob Hoover went on to test-flight glory, was Chuck Yeager's wingman

(Newser) - One of America's greatest aviation heroes has died, reports Yahoo . Bob Hoover, a World War II fighter pilot who escaped the Nazis by stealing one of their planes, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday near Los Angeles, reports the Washington Post . He was 94. Born in Tennessee, Hoover was...

WWII Pilot Found Buried in His Fighter Plane
WWII Pilot Found Buried
in His Fighter Plane
in case you missed it
Nov 1, 2014 7:00 AM CDT

WWII Pilot Found Buried in His Fighter Plane

Lt. Guerrino Bortolani died fighting Allied forces

(Newser) - An Italian WWII pilot who died battling US pilots 70 years ago has been found 13 feet underground, his remains still at the controls of a fighter plane armed with machine guns and cannons, Discovery reports. Lt. Guerrino Bortolani went down in a losing battle against Allied planes on March...

Syrian Rebels Down Plane, Toss Bodies From Roof

Government warplanes fired at random for days: activist

(Newser) - Syrian rebels say they shot down a government fighter today and captured the pilot who ejected—a major feat after days of aerial attacks, the Guardian reports. Syria's state news agency reports the plane crashed due to mechanical failure, but a local activist claims rebels shot down the MiG...

WWII Pilot Who Forever Repaid Rescuers Dies at 94
WWII Pilot Who Forever
Repaid Rescuers Dies at 94
OBITUARY
Dec 23, 2010 6:41 PM CST

WWII Pilot Who Forever Repaid Rescuers Dies at 94

Getting shot down in Pacific shaped Fred Hargesheime's whole life

(Newser) - Shot down by a Japanese fighter in 1943, a young US pilot landed in the jungle of a Japanese-held island. He survived, barely, for a month before fate and Pacific islanders found him, nursed him back to health in secret, and eventually got him back in American hands. Fred Hargesheimer,...

N. Korea Fighter Pilot Killed in an Apparent Defection

Plane went down in Chinese corn field

(Newser) - This much seems clear: A North Korean fighter jet crashed into a corn field in China. (See the Wall Street Journal for photos.) Beyond that lies a ton of speculation, but the wires generally agree on this storyline: It was a lone pilot who tried to defect from Kim...

US Pilot Missing After F-16s Collide

Coast Guard searches waters off South Carolina

(Newser) - The Coast Guard is searching off the coast of South Carolina for the pilot of an F-16 involved in a collision with another fighter jet last night during a training exercise. The other pilot involved managed to safely return to Shaw Air Force Base and is being examined by doctors....

College Football Great 'Doc' Blanchard Dies at 84

(Newser) - Felix “Doc” Blanchard, who won the 1945 Heisman Trophy as part of Army’s famed “Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside” backfield tandem, died yesterday of pneumonia, ESPN reports. The legendary fullback, linebacker, placekicker, and punter was 84. In 1944-46, Blanchard— “Mr. Inside” to fellow Heisman winner Glenn...

Tuskegee Airmen to Attend Inaugural

Invitation recognizes their contribution to historic event

(Newser) - The Tuskegee Airmen of WWII have been invited to the inauguration of the nation's first black president, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama has acknowledged his debt to the elite all-black force, whose heroes fought for a country that discriminated against them. Now in their 80s and 90s, it's...

German Flick Quietly Reclaims the Red Baron as War Hero

Breaks taboo against positive portrayal

(Newser) - Films extolling German war heroes aren’t exactly abundant, but upcoming movie The Red Baron shines the spotlight on the noble, softer side of Germany’s most famous fighter pilot. “There are strong voices in Germany still saying we're not allowed to do this,” says the writer/director. “...

20 Stories
Most Read on Newser