Pilot sought after 2 F-16s collide off SC coast

[October 16, 2009]  CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Crews were searching early Friday for an F-16 fighter pilot whose plane collided with another jet mid-air during night training exercises off the South Carolina coast.

The two planes collided Thursday around 8:30 p.m. about 40 miles off Folly Beach, near Charleston, said Senior Master Sgt. Brad Fallin at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. Both jets are single-seat aircraft.

One jet, piloted by Capt. Lee Bryant, landed safely at Charleston Air Force Base, Fallin said. Bryant was examined at the base but had suffered no injuries and was released, Fallin said. The spokesman did not know where Bryant was early Friday.

Search crews had not yet found the missing plane or its pilot, Capt. Nicholas Giglio, Fallin said.

The pilots' hometowns and ages were not immediately available.

Fallin said he didn't know how much damage Bryant's plane sustained. Fallin said it was being examined as part of the investigation.

The Coast Guard was searching with a helicopter, a C-130 airplane and a cutter early Friday.

Earlier this week, Shaw Air Force Base announced that pilots would be conducting nighttime exercises to allow pilots to fly with night vision equipment and practice tactics critical to surviving in combat.

[Associated Press]

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