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This what I received in email from my local news station about itlast night and then an update on it at 0439. One landed at Charleston AFB, one missing.

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC (WIS/WCSC) - Two Air Force F-16 jets based out of
Shaw Air Force Base collided off the coast of South Carolina Thursday
night, and one of them is missing. According to the Coast Guard, the
collision happened approximately 30 miles northeast of Charleston.

Air Force officials said the fighters were assigned to the 20th Fighter
Wing collided in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean about 8:30pm on Thursday
near Myrtle Beach. The aircraft were participating in night training
maneuvers, officials said.

The aircraft carried one person each. One F-16 was able to land safely at
Charleston AFB, and the pilot is being examined by Air Force medical
personnel.

The location of the other F-16 and its pilot is unknown at this time. A
search is underway involving the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and aircraft
from Charleston AFB.

A board of officers will investigate the accident. As soon as additional
details become available, they will be released.

Update:

The pilot of the missing F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the 20th
Fighter Wing has been identified as Capt. Nicholas Giglio, according to a
release from Shaw Air Force Base. The second F-16 was piloted by Capt. Lee
Bryant.

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC (WIS/WCSC) - Two Air Force F-16 jets based out of
Shaw Air Force Base collided off the coast of South Carolina Thursday
night, and one of them is missing. According to the Coast Guard, the
collision happened approximately 40 miles east of Folly Beach.

Air Force officials said the fighters were assigned to the 20th Fighter
Wing collided in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean about 8:30pm on Thursday.
The aircraft were participating in night training maneuvers, officials
said.

The aircraft carried one person each. One F-16 was able to land safely at
Charleston AFB, and the pilot is being examined by Air Force medical
personnel.

The location of the other F-16 and its pilot is unknown at this time. A
search is underway involving the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and aircraft
from Charleston AFB. A spokesman for Charleston AFB said a team from Shaw
was serving as the lead investigative unit, but the Coast Guard was
devoting resources to the recovery effort.

The U.S. Coast Guard says rescue crews are searching an area 10 nautical
miles off of Bulls Bay for the missing jet and its pilot. An HH-65C Dolphin
helicopter, Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin and a small Coast Guard boat are
assisting in the search.

A board of officers will investigate the accident. As soon as additional
details become available, they will be released.

Doesn't sound good. Man I hope he's alright but I fear the worst. Water in that part of the coast should still be fairly warm this time of year.

They are still looking for the pilot. They got the Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, law enforcement and commercial shippers looking in an area of 1,300 square miles.

Local news just said they are turning the search into a recovery mission. They think he died iinstantly.

From news report this morning:

Air Force: Missing pilot had no chance to eject
By JEFFREY COLLINS (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 18, 2009 7:17 AM EDT
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. - Authorities say an Air Force pilot had no opportunity to eject after a collision between two F-16 fighter jets offshore, and Coast Guard searchers say they've shifted efforts to finding his body and recovering the plane's wreckage.

A search for Capt. Nicholas Giglio, missing since Thursday night's crash, had involved Coast Guard helicopters, ships and private volunteers scouring some 8,000 square miles of Atlantic waters. Authorities said Saturday investigators believe Giglio died instantly during a night training exercise.

The Coast Guard had spent nearly two days conducting the search for the pilot in waters about 40 miles northeast of Charleston. Capt. Michael McAllister, director for the search, described that effort as exhaustive.

"If Capt. Giglio had ejected safely from the aircraft, we're confident we would have found him," McAllister said.

The other pilot was uninjured and landed his F-16 safely at Charleston Air Force Base.

Air Force Col. Joe Guastella said Saturday that investigators believe the bottom of the other jet struck the top of Giglio's fighter and pierced the pilot's canopy.

He said the collision occurred after Giglio and the second pilot, Capt. Lee Bryant, had finished most of their maneuvers and were getting ready to head home. Guastella added that radio beacons on the missing aircraft and pilot were never activated, indicating Giglio never left the cockpit.

"He had no opportunity to eject from the aircraft," Guastella said.

Investigators came to their conclusion using data gathered from the second jet and an interview with Bryant, whose flight controls weren't damaged, Guastella added.

The two pilots were part of Shaw Air Force Base's 20th Fighter Wing commanded by Guastella.

Giglio has been a fighter pilot for 18 months and part of the 77th Fighter Squadron training for a scheduled deployment to Iraq early next year. Originally from New Jersey, the 32-year-old pilot leaves behind a wife, a young daughter and a baby on the way, Guastella said.

Officials said there were reports of debris and an oil slick in the water after the crash, but investigators haven't determined if that came from Giglio's jet. The water is about 50 feet deep in the area where the Air Force thinks the F-16 went down, according to authorities.

Very sad. The 79 FS just arrived here at Bagram and many of those folks know the pilots involved.

My thoughts are with his family and friends - a sad day for them all