F-16 Debris
Two days ago, Pike County Commissioner Harry Rider discovered strange debris in a field on his River Road farm. The debris was from the external fuel cell of an F-16. The plane diverted its flight path after losing the fuel cell last Friday and landed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
Fuel Transmitter
This fuel transmitter was discovered in a River Road field earlier this week.
Aircraft debris
Debris from an F-16 Fighting Falcon was found recently in a field on River Road.
Posted: Friday, September 11, 2015 2:06 pm
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Updated: 4:00 pm, Fri Sep 11, 2015.
F-16 fuel cell debris found in Pike County field
By Stephanie Stanley
Assistant Editor
The Pike County News Watchman
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Two days ago, Pike County Commissioner Harry Rider discovered something unusual in a field at his farm on River Road — the external fuel cell of an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
“It was strange, and we didn’t know what we had found when we located it on Wednesday evening. It looked like something from a spacecraft,” said Rider. “I could carry it all with one hand. It was aluminum and light as a feather and was buried two feet in the ground near the driveway and the edge of the fence. There was fuel all over the ground and it had buried two feet in the ground. It was a good thing it didn’t hit the house.”
Rider called the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, who came to the scene to investigate the debris which, at that time, remained an unidentified mystery.
“At first, we were concerned because we had no idea what was just found in the commissioner’s field,” said Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader. “We had every indication that the debris came from a plane, but we had no idea that it was an F-16 fuel cell.”
Sheriff Reader then notified the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSP) to inform them of the discovery.
“The OSP handles plane crashes and incidents involving aircraft. We then met with Lt. Virgil Conley of the Chillicothe Post of the OSP and went to the scene,” said Sheriff Reader. “He then called Wright Patterson Air Force Base and confirmed that an F-16 had diverted and landed at Wright Patterson.”
Lt. Col. Barbara Barch of the Ohio Air National Guard provided more insight into the incident and source and cause of the debris field.
“Lt. Col. Barch said an F-16 was flying over Pike County at around 21,000 feet and 400 miles per hour last Friday (September 4) when it experienced structural failure of an external fuel cell, which then broke off,” said Sheriff Reader. “The search area was so wide, they had to wait until someone found it. No injuries were reported, and no one reported finding any debris until Harry Rider found it on his farm.”
A military clean-up crew responded at the scene to take measurements and document the findings, said Reader.
“The F-16 did land safely in Dayton,” Reader said. “There were two F-16s flying over, and the second one actually witnessed the structural failure of whatever was holding the fuel cell on. When it broke, it broke in three pieces. There is still a pretty large section, about eight feet in diameter, that didn’t land with the rest of the debris and is still missing.”
Should someone find the tail section of the fuel cell, Sheriff Reader advises them not to touch it and to call the Pike County Sheriff’s Office immediately.
“Don’t touch or move it in any way. It is government property. It was a fuel cell, and we know that it had fuel in it,” said Sheriff Reader. “No one has called to report finding anything else, and it could be on a hillside or even in the river.”
Those with information regarding the location of the missing section of the F-16 are asked to contact the Pike County Sheriff’s Office by calling (740) 947-2111.
Sheriff Reader says he is thankful for the cooperation between multiple agencies and the community during the discovery of the mysterious aircraft debris.
“The Pike County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Air National Guard, and the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office to examine the debris field. We even had a local citizen volunteer to fly his aircraft. He and his wife went up and flew it for us to help us see if there was any more debris that we couldn’t see from the ground,” said Sheriff Reader. “When numerous agencies work together and the community jumps on board and gets involved, law enforcement is better able to complete their duties and life is easier for all of us.”
Email at sstanley@newswatchman.com; follow on Twitter @StephRStanley.
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Friday, September 11, 2015 2:06 pm.
Updated: 4:00 pm.
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