U.S. fighter jet crashes in Arizona

Luke Air Force Base officials say the jet went down Thursday morning in rugged terrain in a remote location near Bagdad in Yavapai County and that authorities are conducting a search and rescue operation.

An Air Force F-16 fighter jet from Luke Air Force Base has crashed in Arizona near the town of Bagdad, Defense Department officials said today, noting the status of the pilot is unknown. The area is sparsely populated. Luke is a major pilot-training base for the Air Force and foreign military services.

Bagdad is about 100 miles from Luke, which is in Glendale.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, according to the Air Force.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office sent a helicopter to the crash site but the crew had not yet found it yet, spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn said. The two civilians aboard the smaller plane were killed, while the F-16 pilot safely ejected. The jet crashed in a farm field. It is unclear if the pilot belonged to the Air Force or was an worldwide trainee, officials said.