Range fire from jet crash contained

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - The pilot of a manned Air Force drone ejected Wednesday morning before the craft crashed in southeast New Mexico sparking a range fire.

The QF-4 Phantom, a modified version of a vintage fighter, came down about 10:30 a.m. six miles southwest of Hope in Eddy County.

The drone was based at Holloman Air Force Base outside Alamogordo.

"The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and is in good condition at this time," Col. David Krumm, commander of the 49th Wing at Hollomas, said in a statement released two hours after the crash.  A board of officers will convene to investigate the cause of the crash, he added.

The crash also started a brush fire named the "Armstrong Fire."  It was contained at 28 acres.

Firefighters from Eddy and Chaves counties and the Bureau of Land Management responded quickly and contained the fire within three hours, according to New Mexico State Forestry.

At last report New Mexico State Police and federal and local authorities were working with the military to protect the crash site about six miles southwest of Hope.

The QF-4 Phantom can be flown remotely or with a pilot and is used in testing air-to-air weapons systems.  The F-4 Phantom was the primary fighter-bomber used by the Air Force during the 1960s and 70s.