Pilot EJECTS from FIERY Thunderbird Crash!

About this video

Max reports on a breaking news incident involving an F-16C Thunderbird crash during training in the California desert on December 3rd, 2025. He explains what he knows about the crash based on initial reports and footage, describes the Thunderbirds’ training cycle and procedures, and provides technical details about the F-16 aircraft. Max attributes the pilot’s survival to the ACES II ejection seat system and speculates on possible causes while emphasizing that an official Air Force investigation will determine what happened.

Key takeaways

• Max reports the Thunderbird pilot ejected safely at high altitude and is in stable condition, which he attributes to the effectiveness of the ACES II ejection seat system
• According to Max, the high-altitude ejection and debris pattern suggest the pilot may have had some controllability to zoom the aircraft upward before ejecting, unlike other crashes where pilots lost control at low altitude
• Max recounts the 2018 Thunderbirds crash involving his friend Kinjun Delbano, who experienced G-LOC (G-induced loss of consciousness) during a high-G maneuver and did not survive

Episode details: published December 4, 2025 · 336.5K views · 14:45 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The analysis and commentary described are Max Afterburner’s, attributed to him — his channel includes hypothetical-scenario and news-react content, which is presented as his analysis, not established fact.

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