An Air Force Thunderbird F-16 crashed in 2025 when its engine blew up, as did a training jet in New Mexico in 2024. Investigators traced both mishaps to a "blind spot" inside the engine.

The pilot who ejected sustained minor injuries; the $33.4 million fighter jet was destroyed on impact.

The engine inside an F-16 Fighting Falcon produces enormous thrust, but keeping that power reliable requires far more than ordinary maintenance. After certain repairs or servicing procedures, engines ...

The F-16’s engine gives the fighter its speed and punch, but keeping that performance means removing it, inspecting it, and testing it inside a heavily protected facility built to contain noise and ...

Investigators found that turned compressor vanes triggered a chain of engine damage that ultimately left the F-16 without sufficient thrust to remain airborne. On Dec. 3, 2025, an F-16CM of the U.S.

Texas National Guard F-16 crashed in Michigan's Grand Traverse County after a suspected bird strike during training, with the ...