- Crash took place over Kansas in October after miscommunication by pilots
- Student and teacher were simulating chasing down a third plane
- When closing in for the kill they turned towards one another and crashed
- Instructor's plane hurtled to earth and was destroyed - while he ejected
- Student, missing five feet of his wing, managed to fly 100 miles back to base
A student pilot who lost half a wing in a potentially disastrous mid-air collision with his instructor managed to land his fighter jet safely.
The unnamed airman brought his F-16C back to base after losing five feet from the plane's right wing above Kansas during a mock dogfight.
He smashed into his instructor after losing sight of him during the practice encounter - sending the second fighter jet plummeting to earth.
Ravaged fighter: An accident left this F-16C fighter jet without half a wing - but its trainee pilot managed to bring it home safely
Mid-air smash: The pilot smashed into a jet flown by his instructor after a practice dogfight went wrong
While the plane was obliterated when it hit the ground, its pilot managed to eject in time and was not badly hurt.
Meanwhile the student managed to bring his damaged vehicle 100 miles south to an air base in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and made a safe landing.
Images of the collision were released this week as part of an Air Force investigation into the crash.
According to the Washington Post, investigators determined that a missile on the right wing tip of the student's plane tore through the right wing of his instructor's plane, close to the fuselage.
Less lucky: The instructor's jet was destroyed when it crashed into a Kansas field - though the instructor himself managed to eject and was not badly hurt
Wreckage: The smashed plane, which lost parts of its wing and tail fin in mid-air, is seen here where it landed
Damaged: Air Force investigators estimated that the accident cost $22.5million
In one piece: Both pilots were at the controls of an F-16C fighter jet, pictured above in Las Vegas, Nevada (file)
It then also hit the plane's right-hand tail fin, sending the plane hurtling to earth. The student shouted repeatedly over the radio for the instructor to bail out, which he did, landing just 60ft from the wreckage of the plane.
The collision came after both student and instructor misinterpreted the other's maneuvers and turned towards one another at an altitude of 7,500ft.
The two planes were supposed to be coordinating to hunt down a third plane in the training flight.
They successfully staged one engagement, but disaster struck during a second run.
Air Force investigators estimated that the collision, which totalled one F-16, cost $22.5million.
On approach: This diagram shows the training mission before disaster struck. MP3 was posing as a hostile craft. MP1 and MP2 are the trainee-instructor duo
Impact: The above image shows the moment of collision, after the two craft turned sharply toward each other