Witnesses report 'fireball' falling from sky after US fighter jet, small plane collide

An F-16 fighter has collided in mid-air with a small civilian training aircraft over South Carolina, US officials said, casting fiery debris over a wide area.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the collision occurred late on Tuesday morning local time, about 20 kilometres north of Charleston.

Shaw Air Force Base in central South Carolina, via Twitter, said the F-16's pilot "is accounted for" as local media, quoting rescuers, reported he was alert and walking.

There was no immediate word about survivors aboard the two-seat Cessna 150, a popular single-engine trainer.

Debris was spread across an area near the lakeside town of Moncks Corner, where residents told local media they had seen a "fireball" fall from the sky.

The crash site, near a small civilian airport, lies near a swath of South Carolina identified on aviation charts as a "military operation area" where fighter aircraft are known to exercise.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was investigating.