US Air Force Jet Crashes in Germany

LONDON -- A U.S. Air Force jet crashed today in Germany during a training exercise, officials said.

The pilot safely ejected from the downed aircraft, which produced a plume of smoke visible from a distance, and the cause of the crash is unclear.

"The American pilot came down with a parachute," Jurgen Stadter, German police spokesman in Upper-Franconia, told ABC News, adding that he had non-life-threatening injuries and is being treated in the hospital.

"We received a phone call at 09:30 a.m. today (03:30 EST)," Stadter added. "Firemen, police and rescue team were sent to scene."

The accident, involving an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, crashed near Engelmannreuth in the county of Bayreuth, Germany, during training, U.S. officials said.

A spokesman for the U.S Spangdahlem Air Force base in Germany said in a written statement that they had established a 1,000-foot cordon around the crash site and will shortly begin investigating.

"The aircraft was carrying six 25-pound training munitions," base officials said. "There were no live munitions on board."