RAAF fighter plane catches fire at US base

An Australian fighter plane involved in exercises at an American base has caught fire after aborting a take-off attempt.

An Australian air force plane has reportedly caught fire during exercises at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

An Australian air force plane has reportedly caught fire during exercises at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Source: www.nellis.af.mil

An Australian air force plane has caught fire during exercises at an American military base in Nevada.

A Defence spokesman said the incident involved an RAAF EA-18G Growler fighter jet at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas.

Nobody was seriously injured and all RAAF personnel are safe, he said in a statement.

Defence is working with the US Air Force to investigate the incident.

A US Air Force statement said a military aircraft was forced to abort its take off on Saturday morning (local time) and then caught fire, but the cause was unknown.

The Australian and British air forces are at Nellis Air Force Base taking part in a three-week air combat training exercise, known as Red Flag, with the US air force, navy, army and marines.

The exercises typically involve a range of attack, fighter and bomber aircraft.

US Air Force Colonel Michael Mathes says this year's Red Flag is the largest ever and was trying a few new and different things to previous training missions.


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