Airmen from the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Group remove the cable of an aircraft arresting system from an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 11, 2016. (Nicholas Rau/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Air Force F-16 jet crashed on takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan late Tuesday, the Pentagon said.
The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by coalition forces, said Peter Cook, Pentagon press secretary.
The F-16 was assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing. The crash site has been secured and the crash is under investigation, Cook said.
Cook said he did not know whether enemy fire had a role in bringing the aircraft down.
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