US military F-16 fighter jet crashes, pilot safe

An F-16 pilot has safely ejected before the fighter jet crashed in rural Michigan, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and triggering temporary evacuations for nearby residents.

The pilot was conscious and speaking to law enforcement at the hospital, authorities said on Thursday.

The plane was participating in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena, about 300km north of Detroit.

Another pilot told air traffic controllers his wingman hit a bird and crashed.

"We have a possible Mayday. My wingman I believe may have taken a bird," the pilot reported.

The controller offered to direct him to a nearby airport in Frankfort or Traverse City, but the pilot said his wingman had already crashed.

Emergency officials first directed nearby residents to shelter in place, but a short time later the Michigan State Police evacuated people within two kilometres because of a hazardous chemical spill related to the crash.

The state police did not release details about the nature of the spill, but F-16 jets use hydrazine, a toxic chemical, as a component of emergency power unit fuel.

The jet was one of several F-16 aircraft from the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, taking part in the Michigan training exercises.

The military began flying the first F-16s in 1979. There have been at least 14 "Class A mishaps" involving F-16s since 2000, according to the Air Force Safety Center.

The Class A mishap designation is generally used when the damage totals more than $US2 million ($A2.8 million), when an aircraft is destroyed or when a service member is killed.

In December, an F-16C Fighting Falcon with the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert, and the pilot in that crash was also able to eject safely.