Fighter Jet Crashes Near Busy Highway

A New Jersey Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet crashed Thursday near a crowded highway in southern New Jersey. But the pilot, who was on a training mission, ejected and was only slightly injured, officials said.

There was no explanation for why the plane crashed into a wooded area near the Garden State Parkway. No cars were hit. Traffic was backed up for hours after the 10:30 a.m. crash while police cleared debris that scattered on the roadway.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking said Air National Guard pilots stationed in New Jersey fly shifts, called combat air patrols, above metropolitan New York.