On a Thursday afternoon in northern Michigan, a military training flight became something more than a controlled exercise when an F-16 from the Texas Air National Guard fell to earth in Grand Traverse County. The pilot survived, and the ground below was spared immediate destruction — yet the invisible aftermath of the crash, a toxic chemical called hydrazine seeping from the wreckage, reminded those nearby that the consequences of modern warfare's machinery do not always announce themselves with fire. In the space between a routine mission and an emergency evacuation, hundreds of ordinary peop
F-16 crashes in Michigan; pilot ejects safely, hazmat concerns emerge
Pilot ejected safely with no reported ground injuries; residents exposed to hazardous hydrazine chemical requiring decontamination and medical monitoring.