Air Force
Pilots eject safely after mishap in T-38 Talon II aircraft
Stars and Stripes
May 12, 2026
A T-38 Talon II sits on the flight line at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., in June 2025. flightline during flying training operations on June 2, 2025. (Javier Cruz/U.S. Air Force)
Two pilots ejected safely from T-38 Talon II aircraft during a flight Tuesday, according to a statement from Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
The aircraft crashed in rural Lamar County, Ala., near the Mississippi border.
“The cause of the mishap is currently unknown and will be investigated by a Safety Investigation Board,” the statement said.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
Columbus Air Force Base is home of the 14th Flying Training Wing of Air Education and Training Command’s 19th Air Force. The wing’s mission focuses on specialized undergraduate pilot training in the T-6 Texan II, T-38C Talon and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft.
The base is in rural Lowndes County, Miss., about 7 miles north of Columbus in the northeast part of the state.
Versions of the T-38 have been used as the Air Force’s primary jet training aircraft since the 1960s, and the service claims more than 70,000 pilots have trained using the plane.
The T-7A Red Hawk Red Hawk will replace the Air Force Air Education and Training Command’s T-38 Talon aircraft in 2027. The Talon, which first flew in 1959, is widely recognized as the world’s first supersonic jet trainer.