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News
A F-16 fighter plane crashed near Washington during a training mission
Washington: An Air National Guard F-16 fighter plane crashed near Washington on Wednesday during a training mission, and the pilot ejected safely after steering the plummeting aircraft away from houses, a military official said.
The pilot, who escaped with minor injuries, reported mechanical trouble during the training mission in the plane, which was built in 1986 or 1987, Air National Guard Brigadier General George Degnon said. There were no injuries on the ground or damage to buildings.
Degnon said the District of Columbia Air National Guard plane was training with three other National Guard aircraft when the pilot experienced trouble shortly after takeoff and turned around.
The plane went down about 9:15 a.m. (1315 GMT) some 12 miles (19 km) south of the U.S. capital after the pilot realized he could not land safely, Degnon told a news conference at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, where the aircraft had taken off.
"He made the decision to manoeuvre to a wooded area to avoid the risk to the local community and ensure public safety before initiating ejection," Degnon said.
The pilot, who was not identified, was treated and released at a hospital. Degnon said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Local television showed video images of the pilot drifting to a field under a parachute while a cloud of black smoke rose from the burning plane. Firefighters were called to put out the blaze.
A witness, Kent Roberson, told Washington's NBC television affiliate that he heard a loud boom when the plane went down. "Like how a large tree falls and shakes the ground," he said.
The F-16 was part of the 113th Wing of DC's Air National Guard
Washington: The pilot of an F-16 fighter ejected safely when the plane crashed on a training mission near Washington on Wednesday, an Air Force official said.
Air Force spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said the plane crashed in an unpopulated area about six miles (10 kilometers) southwest of National Harbor.
He said the plane was based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, which is also home to the president's plane, Air Force One.
"The pilot ejected and is safe," Ryder told AFP.
The F-16 was part of the 113th Wing of DC's Air National Guard.
Ryder said he was not aware of any casualties on the ground.
Investigators will launch a probe.
Russian plane crash
A Russian military plane carrying members of the army's official choir traveling to perform in Syria has crashed in the Black Sea near Sochi. There are apparently no survivors, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The ensemble was "flying to congratulate Russian air force pilots in Syria with the New Year," ministry spokesman Igor Konashekov said.
A Tupolev Tu-154 plane that was carrying 92 people, including 84 passengers and eight crew members, disappeared from radar Sunday morning local time after taking off from the Adler airport, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The plane took off from Moscow and was headed to the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Syria, where Russia has a large military presence, for a concert ahead of New Year's Eve, a source told Russia's state news agency Tass.
WHAT IS A BLACK BOX?
Often one of the first pieces of techno-speak that springs to mind when we hear of an aviation disaster - and a catch-all phrase popular with the media - is ‘Black Box,’ but how much do you really know about these vital pieces of equipment?
Any commercial aeroplane or corporate jet is required to be equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder. It is these two items of separate equipment which we commonly refer to as a ‘Black Box.’ While they do nothing to help the plane when it is in the air, both these pieces of equipment are vitally important should the plane crash, as they help crash investigators find out what happened just before the crash.
Often, for example when a plane crashes into the sea, as happened with the 1985 bombing of Air India flight 182 by Sikh terrorists over the Atlantic Ocean just west of Ireland, investigators have very little to go on – on this specific occasion the plane crashed before the pilot could even issue a mayday signal and much of the debris sank into the sea, leaving few clues.
Today, the Black Box is still just as vitally important in helping piece together the causes of a plane crash, as seen by the discovery of the Black Box in the Mexico plane crash that killed fourteen, including the interior minister of Mexico on 4th November, 2008.
To help locate the cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder in the aftermath of a plane crash that occurs at sea, each recorder has a device fitted to it known as an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB). The device is activated as soon as the recorder comes into contact with water and it can transmit from a depth as deep as 14,000 feet. Also, to help investigators find them; a Black Box is not actually black at all, but bright orange.
OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF FLYING?
Statistically, flying is the safest mode of transport there is. For example, in the US alone in 2000 there were 41,800 traffic accident fatalities, compared to just 878 deaths involving commercial aeroplanes.
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