Residents of St. Paul Island, Alaska, pose with F-16 Fighting Falcon aircrew following an emergency landing there on May 19, 2025. (U.S. Air Force)
Two U.S. Air Force pilots stationed in South Korea received a warm welcome — including homecooked meals and a wedding invitation — after their F-16 fighter jets made an emergency landing on a remote island in the Bering Sea last month.
One of the two Fighting Falcons experienced a significant drop in oil levels during flight on May 19 and was forced to land at the nearest suitable airfield, on St. Paul Island, Alaska, Capt. Alvin Nelson, an 8th Fighter Wing spokesman, said in an email Wednesday.
The second F-16, which did not suffer a malfunction, landed along with its formation partner on the same airstrip, about 300 miles west of mainland Alaska. The Kunsan Air Base jets were en route to Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks for a routine exercise.
Maintenance personnel from Eielson were redirected to St. Paul to repair the jet, a process that took 10 days, Nelson said.
Air Force mechanics work on an F-16 Fighting Falcon that made an emergency landing on St. Paul, Alaska, on May 19, 2025. (U.S. Air Force)
While the pilots waited, island residents offered traditional Alaskan foods, including reindeer and golden king crab.
“One community member even extended a wedding invitation to our pilots, who unfortunately were unable to attend,” Nelson said.
St. Paul, incorporated in 1971, is home to about 344 people and spans 44 square miles, said acting Public Works Director Phillip Zavadil in an email Thursday. The island’s economy is largely based on crab and halibut fishing, according to its official website.
City clerk and St. Paul native Aubrey Wegeleben described the island as small but welcoming.
“I feel the community is generally close-knit — everyone knows each other and there is a sense of comfort,” she said by email Thursday. “Though we are remote in the Bering Sea, we’re not too isolated from the world.”
The noise from the F-16 engines “broke the usual quiet of everyday life” and quickly attracted residents’ attention, Wegeleben said. When the jet was repaired on May 29, a crowd gathered to see them off.
“As word spread, excitement grew, and many made their way to the airport eager to see the jets,” she said.
Lt. Col. James Divine, deputy commander of the 8th Operations Group, expressed gratitude to St. Paul’s residents.
“The incredible outpouring of compassion and support has been remarkable,” he said in an email Wednesday. They “welcomed our aircrew and response teams with open arms.”
