An F-22 fighter jet with the 43rd Fighter Squadron crashed Friday morning during a routine training mission.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, ejected from the aircraft and was taken to the base hospital, said Ilka Cole, a spokeswoman for the 96th Test Wing, which is the host unit at Eglin AFB. He is in stable condition and has been visiting with family and friends at the hospital.
There were no other injuries or damage to civilian property, a statement from Eglin AFB officials said.
The crash happened around 9:15 a.m. about 12 miles northeast of the main base in a remote part of the reservation. The sprawling Eglin reservation covers hundreds of thousands of acres across Northwest Florida.
It was not clear Friday afternoon whether the crash sparked any fire, a concern in an area where wildfires have consumed hundreds of acres in recent days, and which remain a threat in the area’s current hot, dry and windy weather pattern.
The F-22 Raptor was on a routine training mission at the time of the crash, Cole said, and was not part of a flyover scheduled Friday morning to honor first responders and hospital personnel for their work on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.
The crash prompted Eglin AFB officials to recall the four jets that were to be involved in flyover, said Don Arias, Tyndall Air Force Base spokesman. The jets were already in the air.
