Boar Reportedly Ruins Pakistani F-16 Jet
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistan air force F-16 exploded after hitting a wild boar on the runway during takeoff, The Nation newspaper said Friday.
The accident happened Thursday at the air force base at Sargodha, 120 miles southeast of Islamabad, the English-language newspaper said. It did not say whether the pilot survived.
The Nation said the fighter plane’s nose wheel was knocked off after hitting a wild boar. The plane skidded along the runway, caught fire, “turned into a fireball and was destroyed,” the newspaper said.
A Pakistan military spokesman said the report was incorrect but refused to elaborate.
Pakistan has acquired 40 F-16s from the United States to boost its defense force because of the massive Soviet military presence in neighboring Afghanistan.
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