Date:	Wednesday 20 March 2002
Time:	21:08 LT
Type:	General Dynamics F-16CJ-50
Owner/operator:	23rd FS, 52nd FW, USAF
Registration:	91-0415
MSN:	CC-113
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Landscheid, 2 miles NE of Spangdahlem AB (Rhl.-Pfalz) -   Germany
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Spangdahlem AB (SPM/ETAD)
Destination airport:	Spangdahlem AB (SPM/ETAD)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
A 23rd Fighter Squadron pilot died Wednesday night when his F-16CJ crashed two miles northeast of Spangdahlem Air Base.

The air base's control tower lost radio and radar contact with Capt. Luke A. Johnson, 26, at 9:08 p.m. as he prepared to land.

Johnson was flying with three other aircraft from his squadron, known as the Fighting Hawks, for a night training mission. All took off from the base at 7:55 p.m. Johnson was the last of the four fighters scheduled to land.

Johnson's F-16 crashed in a flat, wooded area about 500 yards from a logging road near Landscheid. No one on the ground was injured and no property was damaged.

After contact with the plane was lost, Air Force officials immediately notified German police, who patrolled the last known location of the plane until they found the area of impact at 23.40h.

No one had seen the plane crash and no fire was visible after the accident.

At the time of the accident, winds were out of the southwest at 6 knots and visibility was 8,000 meters, about five miles, with light rain and fog - considered favorable flying conditions, base spokesman Tech. Sgt. Rich Romero said.

Flags at 52nd Fighter Wing headquarters flew at half-staff and skies that normally roar with the sound of warplanes were silent. The base hosts about 60 fighter aircraft and launches roughly 1,050 sorties a month.

Flights were suspended Thursday for Johnson's 23rd Fighter Squadron, the F-16s of its fellow 22nd Fighter Squadron, and the A-10s of the 81st Fighter Squadron, Romero said.

The last fatal aircraft accident at Spangdahlem was May 30, 1995, when an F-15 crashed.

1. http://www.scramble.nl (Scramble 275)
2. http://www.f-16.net/news_article676.html
3. http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/ExecSum2002/F-16CJ_Spangdahlem_20Mar02.pdf
4. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1991.html
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20170218164837/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_00s.htm

USAF F-16C block 50 #91-0415 aircraft from USAFE's 52nd FW operate as Wild Weasels. This specimen's equiped with wingtip Amraams, Sidewinders on stations 2 and 8, and AGM-88 HARM (starboard) and Shrike (port) anti-radiation missiles. Note the AN/ASQ-213 Harm Targetting System pod on the starboard intake station. [USAF official publicity photo]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Nov-2008 10:35	ASN archive	Added
01-Oct-2011 20:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Aug-2013 20:18	Uli Elch	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
21-Nov-2013 03:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
21-Nov-2013 03:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]