F-16 Fighter Jet Pilot's 'Miracle' Escape After California Crash

A USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon (Picture: US Department of Defense).

A pilot has managed to escape moments before their F-16 fighter jet crashed into a warehouse in California.

It happened just outside March Air Reserve Base in California following a routine training mission, military officials have said.

The pilot was not hurt, and there were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground, Major Perry Covington, the base's director of public affairs, said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Television news showed a large hole in the roof and sprinklers on inside the building about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.

Warehouse worker Daniel Gallegos told KABC-TV the noise just before the crash was deafening: "Next thing I know I just hear this explosion and turn around to the back of the building, and I just seen a burst of flames and just the ceiling started falling through every part of the building.

"I turned around, and my co-worker just told me to get, so I just made a run for it."

Mr Gallegos said he believed one of his co-workers was struck by something - possibly a falling fire sprinkler - but was not seriously hurt.

March Air Reserve Base deputy fire chief Timothy Holliday said the crash happened as the pilot was landing: "The pilot was having hydraulic problems. He started losing control of the aircraft."

The jet's cockpit canopy was on a runway, and a parachute had settled in a nearby field.

Damage to the warehouse was relatively minor, and there was no major fire, which Mr Holliday called "a miracle".

The pilot, the only person on board, was taken to a hospital for examination, officials said.

Mr Holliday said the F-16, assigned to the Air National Guard, was carrying standard armaments and will be recovered once authorities make sure the weapons do not pose a risk.