Human remains found at F-16 crash site in Arizona

Human remains have been found at the site where a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed Thursday near Bagdad, Arizona, military officials said.

The jet crashed around 8:45 a.m., the Air Force said.

Luke Air Force Base officials had feared earlier that the pilot did not survive the crash.

“While this is not conclusive, it is another indication the pilot did not survive the accident,” the base said in a late-night news release. It said the coroner would make the final identification.

Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke, said rescue crews were searching for the pilot earlier on Thursday but that he believed the pilot was dead. The pilot’s name was not released.

“All indications lead me to believe the pilot did not survive the accident,” Brig. Gen. Pleus said at a news conference, The Associated Press reported.

He confirmed the student pilot had been in training for the past six months at Luke, which is a major pilot-training base for the Air Force and foreign military services.

Both the jet and the pilot were from Taiwan, CNN reported.

The crash occurred in rugged terrain about 10 miles southwest of Bagdad in Yavapi County. The crash site was located by a helicopter crew about four hours later.

Bagdad is about 85 miles northwest of Luke, which is located in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale.