N. Carolina AF Base Midair Crash Kills 16 : Disaster: Another 82 are injured after fighter jet collides with cargo plane as both are landing. Debris skids into paratroopers preparing for exercises.

Sixteen people were killed and 82 injured Wednesday when an Air Force fighter jet collided with a military cargo plane above Pope Air Force Base here and debris from the wreckage careened into a transport plane on the ground.

Air Force officials said the two pilots aboard the F-16D fighter jet ejected safely, and the C-130 cargo plane was able to land safely with five crew members aboard. But the remains of the unmanned fighter skidded into a staging area where paratroopers were preparing for exercises and ignited the fuel tanks of a C-141 transport.

It was not immediately clear what caused the midair collision, which was one of the worst military air accidents in recent years. The Air Force said it was convening a special board to investigate.

The F-16D and the C-130 were both practicing landings when they collided, Brig. Gen. Bobby Floyd said. The C-130, a propeller-powered aircraft, had completed its training exercise with paratroopers and was returning to Pope nearly empty.

“For some unknown reason, they both appeared at the same time at the same place,” Floyd said. “Obviously, there was a failure to communicate. Both pilots thought they were cleared to land.”

Officials said after the fighter pilots ejected, the F-16 exploded and crashed, sending debris flying in all directions, and then skidded past several parked transport planes into the paratroop staging area. The crash occurred at about 2:30 p.m. EST. The fire on the ground took almost a half hour to extinguish.

Part of the debris hit the C-141, whose crew was preparing for a training flight for Army paratroopers from adjacent Ft. Bragg. Most of the victims were thought to have been hit by flying debris. Some were in a so-called pack shed near the Tarmac where paratroopers gather before boarding planes.

Most of the injuries consisted of burns and broken bones.

“I wasn’t sure how badly I was hurt,” an unidentified soldier told WTVD-TV. “I rolled to make sure I wasn’t on fire or anything. It was the same with other people.

“It was very, very horrible,” he said. “You can’t really explain it. I can’t believe it actually happened.”

Air base officials said 62 of the 82 men who were injured were flown to nearby Womack Army Medical Center at Ft. Bragg or civilian hospitals in the area. The remaining 20 were treated by medics at the scene and released. Names of the dead were not released Wednesday night.

Five of the injured were taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, hospital spokesman Clinton Weaver said.

“Every unit on Ft. Bragg had someone in that area at that time,” said Sgt. 1st Class Skip Richey.

Air Force officials said the F-16D was assigned to the 74th Fighter Squadron and the C-130 to the 2nd Airlift Squadron, both based at Pope.

The C-141 was part of the 438th Airlift Wing at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.

In Washington, President Clinton expressed his sorrow.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic air collision at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina and the resultant loss of life and injuries,” Clinton said in a statement issued by the White House.

“This tragedy is a reminder that all those who serve in the military at home and abroad put their lives at risk in the service of their nation and deserve the thanks of all Americans for doing so,” the statement said.

Defense Secretary William Perry, flying home from an eight-day trip to the former Soviet Union, issued a statement offering “profound sympathies and condolences to the families of those who have been killed or injured.”

The death toll surpasses that from a November, 1992, midair collision of two Air Force C-141 transports above Montana that killed 13.

Pine reported from Washington and Harrison from North Carolina. The Associated Press also contributed to this story.