The Lockheed-Martin F-16CM crashed at Shaw Air Force Base, about 30 miles east of Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday at about 11:30 p.m. EDT, (0330 GMT Wednesday), according to a posting on the Shaw Facebook page.
The pilot, whose identity was not released pending notification of kin, was the only person aboard the jet, the Air Force said.
The cause of the crash was unknown, it said.