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Pilot unharmed: MINDEF confirms no major injuries after F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base

Following a crash at Tengah Air Base on Wednesday afternoon, RSAF suspended F-16 training as a safety measure. MINDEF confirmed the pilot’s well-being after a thorough medical examination, revealing no major injuries.

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SINGAPORE: The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has temporarily suspended training for its F-16 fleet “as a safety precaution” following a crash at Tengah Air Base shortly after takeoff on Wednesday (8 May) afternoon.

Training will remain halted until investigations determine it is safe to resume, announced the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) late on Wednesday.

Earlier, MINDEF reported that the aircraft experienced “an issue” during takeoff around 12:35 pm.

Fortunately, the pilot ejected from the plane before the crash and sustained no major injuries.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen confirmed the pilot’s condition in a Facebook post, stating that although the pilot is ambulant, conscious, and talking, he will remain hospitalized for observation as a precaution.

In an update provided Wednesday night, MINDEF disclosed that the pilot had undergone a comprehensive medical examination, which revealed no major injuries.

“The serviceman is an experienced pilot with over 2,000 flying hours on the F-16 aircraft,” said the ministry.

“According to the pilot, he encountered flight control issues upon lifting off the runway at Tengah Air Base for a routine training flight.”

MINDEF stated that detailed investigations into the incident are ongoing.

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen highlighted that it has been 20 years since one of its fighter jets crashed.

“It’s a credible record but obviously disappointed over this incident – the goal for the RSAF must still be zero crashes.”

In May 2004, an RSAF F-16C crashed during a night training mission in Arizona, USA, resulting in the tragic loss of the 25-year-old Singaporean pilot, initially reported as missing.

Following an investigation, a board of inquiry concluded that the pilot might have experienced gravity-induced loss of consciousness or spatial disorientation, which hindered his ability to recover the aircraft from an inverted position.

In 2010, an RSAF AH-64 Apache helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in an open field near a residential area in Woodlands due to engine issues.

Fortunately, both pilots emerged unharmed from the incident.

Singapore’s F-16 fleet has been in service since 1998 and recently underwent a mid-life upgrade.

However, they are slated for retirement after the mid-2030s. To replace them, Singapore has chosen the F-35 family of jets.

In February, Singapore announced plans to acquire eight F-35A jets, supplementing an earlier order of 12 F-35 jets of the “B” variant.

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The pic in this article is strange.
The left missile mounting is empty and a missile is trialling the A/C!
And this is while the A/C is on the ground.

Boom….!

Last edited 10 days ago by Chi Can
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Now check log record, maybe maintenance work sub con out to third party and third party to fourth party which subcon to fifth party and the actual one who did the work was a WP bangala.
Just like what they do when they build slum BTO!😆😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣

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Sigh………….

Very difficult for the 60s

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