The aircraft was part of the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing from Westfield, Massachusetts, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tom Crosson said on Wednesday.
The jet went down at around 9 am (1300 GMT) in a rural area near the town of Deerfield in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, said Jenny McNeal from the Augusta County Sheriff's office.
Rescue crews rushed to the crash site, where a cloud of smoke was clearly visible from a distance, she said.
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