A U.S. Air Force T-38C Talon jet trainer assigned to Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, crashed in western Alabama on May 12, 2026, with both pilots ejecting safely, according to base and media reports. The aircraft, belonging to the 14th Flying Training Wing, went down around noon in rural Lamar County near the Mississippi border.
Columbus Air Force Base officials described the incident as a mishap and said the cause remains unknown. A Safety Investigation Board has been convened to determine what led to the crash. The pilots were recovered after ejecting and were taken to a local hospital; officials have not released details on their condition beyond confirming they are safe and, in some reports, uninjured.
Imagery and video circulating online show two parachutes descending toward the ground following the ejection. Aviation tracking data cited in specialist outlets identified the jet as callsign REEF42, tail number 66-4362. Another T-38C from Columbus, REEF41 (66-4339), reportedly squawked the emergency code 7700 around the same time but landed safely.
Base personnel and local authorities secured the crash site shortly after the incident. The T-38 Talon, a twin-seat, supersonic trainer, has long served as a primary advanced jet training platform for U.S. Air Force pilots.