After the Air Forces Thunderbirds flew over the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony in which President Barack Obama spoke spoke, jet #6 crashed.
According to The Air Force Times, the F-16 crashed near Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado where the pilot ejected safely on Thursday.
The White House pool report indicates that Obama met with the pilot and thanked him for his service. Obama also expressed his relief that the pilot was not seriously injured. Upon seeing the president, the pilot saluted Obama and then shook his hand.
The Air Force Times reports that the Air Force will conduct a “thorough investigation into the causes of the mishap, and those findings will be released when the investigation is complete.”
The pilot of the #6 jet ejected safely and is walking around unhurt. More details will be released as they become available. 2/2
— Air Combat Command (@USAF_ACC) June 2, 2016
Lindsay Diaz shared this picture of the downed Thunderbird near Powers and Fontaine. #Breaking pic.twitter.com/Vzo1wdooD0
— KRDO NewsChannel 13 (@KRDONC13) June 2, 2016
BREAKING: A Thunderbird F-16 has crashed in Colorado following graduation flyover. pic.twitter.com/ljDRMnwIuk
— Airshow News (@NewsAirshow) June 2, 2016