A Belgian Air Force mechanic mistakenly shot an F-16 cannon while carrying out maintenance work and hit another fighter jet nearby.

The plane that was hit exploded and was completely destroyed. Another plane parked nearby was damaged by the fire.

The incident took place last Thursday at the Florennes base, 100 kilometers south of Brussels, where two air force technicians were lightly injured and suffered from breathing difficulties.

An initial investigation revealed that the mechanic accidentally opened fire with a 20 mm Gatling machine gun capable of firing 6,000 bullets per minute. Because of the fire intensity, it did not take a long press on the trigger to shoot enough bullets to destroy the aircraft.

"On October 11, at about 10:10 pm, a fire broke out during maintenance work on an F-16 aircraft at the Florennes base, and the plane went up in flames," the Belgian Air Force said after the blast.

Reuters Belgian F-16 fighter jet