(Los Angeles) A supersonic fighter plane crashed Tuesday in a national park in New Mexico, in the southwest of the United States, the United States Air Force announced.
The pilot at the controls of this F-16 “Fighting Falcon” ejected before his plane crashed in White Sands National Park, Holloman Air Force Base said on its Facebook page.
“All non-emergency personnel should avoid the area to avoid possible exposure to chemicals on board the aircraft,” the base said.
Emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene and an investigation into the crash was launched. The pilot, safe and sound, was evacuated to receive medical treatment.
Famous for its gigantic white sand dunes, made of gypsum crystals, White Sands National Park attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
It is surrounded by a gigantic desert area managed by the American army, which it uses to test numerous weapons and missiles.
It was in this remote corner of the United States that the famous Trinity test took place in 1945, to expose the very first atomic bomb. An episode recently recounted on screen in the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer.
The F-16 “Fighting Falcon” is a single-engine supersonic aircraft model initially developed for the United States Army in the 1970s. Hundreds of examples still remain in service in the United States and around the world.