F-16 Crash at the Bartow Air Base (Read 723 times)

The Bartow Air Base outside Bartow Florida is a former Air Force training facility. A museum is located in the operations center and contains many pictures of former operations. Since the air base is somewhat between McDill in Tampa and the Avon Park Bomb Range, it is a good place to land if a plane is running into trouble.

Unfortunately, an F-16 ran into trouble and crashed at the end of the runway. I was with the County Fire Department at the time (former Griffis 106'er). and we did not even have a fire truck at the base. The City of Bartow did have a small fire truck, but it was not what you wanted to send to a burning F-16.

The pilot had safetly ejected and was in our Public Safety Office, so no one was getting hurt if the plane continued to burn. We did not have guns on Six's so I was not familiar with what guns do when the plane is on fire. It did appear to me and some of the Bartow firefighters that the gun was cooking off some ammo from time to time. Fortunately, the pilot told us the bombs were inert.

We were told crews from McDill would be there between one and two hours, so we decided to let them handle this dangerous situation. It was a good plan until a car full of Bartow City Commissiners showed up to look at the plane. While I was saying "no way", I was being told this was not my jurisdiction and that these a the "Commisioners". As they closed in on the aircraft, it sounded like the gun cooked off again and here they came charging back. After that episode, no one else wanted to see the plane. When McDill arrived at our HQ, they interviewed the pilot for awhile, then said the media could come in. The media came in the front door and the pilot got in a car headed to McDill out the back door. It was a learning experience for all, and it is always good when everyone goes home.

As I watched the 11:00 news that night, I watched my neighbor being interviewed as an eyewitness to the plane crash. "Tell us what you saw sir"! "Yeah! I saw the whole thing! I seen the plane and a white puff of smoke came out of it and something white was floating down! I said to myself, that had to be the pilot"!

My neighbor was no where near the plane at any time. I would have told the true story if I heard about plans to make him the grand marshall of a parade.
B McKee USAF