Story highlights Air Force officials report both pilots are uninjured

The fighter jet sputtered and popped before gong down, witnesses said

Two pilots safely ejected before an F-16 crashed during a training mission on Wednesday night near Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, an Air Force spokeswoman told CNN.

They were recovered a short time later by an ambulance crew, CNN affiliate KPHO reported . Air Force officials reported both pilots were uninjured.

Witnesses said they could tell the plane was sputtering and popping just before it went down.

"The jet exploded. It went boom," Eva DelaCruz, who lives near the base, told KPHO. "It exploded again and we looked up and saw the jet with a lot of flames. Like a lot of fire and I said that's not normal because we see jets left and right."

The Air Force will investigate the crash, according to KPHO.