A pilot's failure to keep tabs on his altitude during night, low altitude high-angle strafing training caused the crash of an F-16 Fighting Falcon at the Utah Test and Training Range June 22, according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released Sept. 28.

The pilot was killed upon impact and aircraft assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing from Hill AFB in Utah was destroyed. According to the report, the pilot was likely focused on visually positioning himself for an attack and was unaware of his low altitude. There was no evidence the pilot attempted to recover from the diving approach on the target or that he attempted to eject.

The board also considered other factors that substantially contributed to this mishap.

Although the mission pilot was current, qualified and appropriately supervised, he had limited total experience in this type of event. The pilot channelized his attention on attempting to visually prosecute the attack, to the exclusion of visual and audible cues of a more immediate priority.

He failed to perform an effective visual scan of his flight instruments, and his mental expectation of his aircraft parameters was distinctly different from reality, making it difficult to mentally process data appearing contrary to what he was expecting, altering his perception of the target, ground cues and altitude indications.

Low-illumination conditions and lack of terrain contrast made it difficult for the mission pilot to visually distinguish terrain features and recognize his proximity to the ground.