An Air Force F-16 fighter jet and a Cessna private plane collided on Tuesday about 11 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Defense officials told NBC News that reports indicate the military pilot safely ejected from the F-16 before it crashed.
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The status of the Cessna or anyone aboard was not immediately known.
Michael Mule, a spokesman with the Berkeley County Sherriff's Office, told NBC affiliate WCBD the plane crash happened at Lewis Field Plantation in Moncks Corner.
A witness told the station that he saw two planes collide in the air and saw a huge explosion, describing it as a "ball of fire in the air."
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