As previously noted, Air Force Captain George Bryan Houghton was killed in an F-16 crash in June.  A report from the Air Force Times says that the Air Force investigation determined Houghton’s inexperience in a challenging maneuver at night contributed to the crash.

Houghton was reportedly an experienced pilot, but most of his time was in the T-6A Texan II as a first-assignment instructor (FAIP).  He had less than 200 hours in the F-16, indicating that he was very new to the fighter.

Night attacks in an F-16 are very hazardous for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it is easy to get disoriented and often very difficult to discern altitude.  Obviously, they must be practiced in order to mitigate that risk.  The fighter unit was reportedly preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, where such attacks were likely to be required.

Houghton apparently lost track of his height above ground and executed the attack too low to recover.