DERIDDER, La. (KLFY) — The pilot is safe and no injuries were reported after an F-16 fighter jet crashed in a wooded area south of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish at around 11:15 a.m. this morning.
Louisiana State Police Troop D Public Information Officer Tpr. Derek Senegal said the pilot of the craft was safely ejected and was retrieved by military personnel from Fort Polk after the jet crashed around two miles south of the 1500 block of Bertrand Rd. The crash area is an unpopulated area off a logging road, according to the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office. The crash site is roughly 50 miles south of Fort Polk.
It is currently unclear what the F-16 was involved in at the time of the crash. It is also unknown where the jet was headed to or from. Fort Polk personnel told KLFY the plane belongs to the Texas Air National Guard and was not based at or working for Fort Polk. News 10 has been unable to reach any officials from Texas Air National Guard.