This accident is the first U.S. Air Force flying accident in 2019 following 11 accidents for Air Force and Air Force Reserve/National Guard aircraft in 2018. Two USAF F-16s crashed last year, including a fatal accident involving the U.S. Air Force flight demonstration team, The Thunderbirds that occurred on April 5, 2018. The other USAF F-16 accident in 2018 happened when an aircraft overran the runway on emergency landing and the pilot ejected safely at Lake Havasu City Airport in Arizona on April 24, 2018.