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Jet crash may have been caused by a collision with a bird

Luke Air Force Base officials are admitting they now have an idea why an F-16 fighter jet crashed near the base late Wednesday. Brigadier General Mike Rothstein commands the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke, and says the jet may have hit a bird.

“He was actually doing a touch-and-go, so he had kind of landed, continued to roll; they do that for practice,” Rothstein said. “Then shortly on the takeoff leg, he reported a bird strike. And I don’t want to go into much more detail than that.”

Rothstein says the wreckage landed in a field just outside the Base fence, in Glendale . He's thanking the people who responded to help the pilots, who were able to escape without substantial injury.