This fighter jet shot itself down! The suicidal story of Belgian F-16

In 2018, at a Belgian Air Base in Florennes, a parked F-16 Fighting Falcon was undergoing routine maintenance. Nothing unusual, until another F-16, being prepped nearby, decided to go rogue. A technician accidentally triggered the M61 Vulcan cannon, a six-barrel Gatling gun. The jet fired. But what happened next is straight out of a dark aviation comedy.

The cannon shells smashed into a nearby parked F-16, which was fully fueled and just chilling. Seconds later, the hit jet exploded, and the fireball took both aircraft with it. One fighter jet literally shot its wingman and then died in the resulting inferno. Friendly fire? More like friendly barbecue.

The destroyed F-16 cost Belgium a cool $20 million. Add in damage to nearby buildings, the second jet, and emergency response costs, and the total bill skyrocketed. All because of a maintenance mishap and some tragically live ammo. That’s one expensive oopsie.

The incident wasn't just material damage. Two ground technicians were injured in the explosion, though thankfully, they survived. One of them had been sitting in the cockpit of the jet that fired the shot talk about a front-row seat to disaster.

Investigations revealed that a maintenance worker accidentally engaged the gun while working inside the cockpit. It shouldn’t have been possible safety protocols are usually airtight. But live rounds were loaded, systems were active, and fingers went where they shouldn't. Basically: a one-in-a-million maintenance mistake triggered full auto-chaos.

This incident became a legendary example of military mishaps, where a fighter jet became its own worst enemy. No pilot, no mission, no dogfight, just one jet deciding it was time to end everything. If planes had feelings, this one would’ve needed therapy.