2 Air National Guard pilots home after midair collision
MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. (AP) — Two F-16 fighter pilots who survived a midair collision in Georgia are home with their families, the commander of the South Carolina National Guard said Wednesday.
Pieces of wreckage from both jets were found in remote, wooded areas about 2 miles apart from each other, Guard officials said.
Neither of the aircraft was carrying any bombs or explosives, Livingston said, but he asked local residents not to touch any parts they might find because fuel or other materials form the high-tech aircraft could be dangerous to handle.
Base commander Col. Nicholas Gentile, who returned from flying over the 15-square-mile area in southeastern Georgia where the crash occurred, described it as a mix of farmland, dense woods, and swamp that makes the search difficult.
U.S. F/A 18 jet fighters from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort also were flying nighttime operations and contacted officials to help locate the pilots, Gentile said.
The Thunderbirds had just performed over the open-air graduation ceremony at the nearby Air Force Academy, where President Barack Obama spoke.