Officials release name of pilot killed in fighter jet crash at Shaw Air Force Base
The pilot of a fighter jet killed in a crash late Tuesday night was 1st Lt. David Schmitz of the 77th Fighter Squadron, Air Force officials announced Thursday.
The F-16CM Fighting Falcon was on a routine training mission from Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter when it went down at the base at about 11:30 p.m., officials said in a news release.
Schmitz was the fighter jet’s lone occupant who died on the scene, and no other injuries were reported, according to the release.
The incident was called an “accident,” and an “aircraft mishap,” by Air Force officials. Information on what caused the F-16 to crash was not available, but it is being investigated, according to the release.
Emergency responders were on the scene of the crash, officials said. Schmitz died at the scene, according to base officials.
The Air Force waited 24 hours to publicly identify Schmitz in order to notify his next of kin.
Schmitz’s “lifelong goal” was to fly for the U.S. Air Force as a pilot, 20th Fighter Wing Commander Larry Sullivan said in a video released on Shaw’s Facebook page.
At 17 years old, Schmitz earned his pilot’s license and he attended undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base. Schmitz enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a loadmaster on the C-17 aircraft, Sullivan said. At the time of the crash, Schmitz was training with his squadron, the 77th Gamblers, ahead of deployment overseas for combat operations, according to Sullivan.
The F-16 was assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at the South Carolina base.
The 20th Fighter Wing is the largest and most active F-16 unit in the Air Force. It has roots in World War I, was formed in World War II, has fought in every major U.S. conflict since, and has often been the “tip of spear” in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 20th Fighter Wing has deployed more than 8,000 airmen to the Middle East and Afghanistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, The State previously reported.
“I am saddened to hear a military pilot passed away last night during a training mission involving a F-16CM Fighting Falcon at Shaw Air Force Base,” Jaime Harrison, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, said in a news release. “While we await more details, Marie and I are praying for the family of the pilot and all service members on duty here in South Carolina during the crash.”
This crash is the most recent for the Air Force in the past six weeks, with incidents involving an F-15C in the United Kingdom, an F-35A in addition to an F-22A in separate incidents at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and another F-35A at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, according to thedrive.com.
The F-16CM Fighting Falcon
Shaw Air Force Base officials call the F-16 Fighting Falcon the primary weapons system of the 20th Fighter Wing
“In an air combat role, the F-16’s maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) until recently have exceed that of all potential adversary fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles, deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions.”
SOURCE: Shaw Air Force Base
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This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 4:11 AM with the headline "Officials release name of pilot killed in fighter jet crash at Shaw Air Force Base."
