Story highlights Two people aboard the small private plane were killed

The small plane's debris was "scattered over a large area including a rice field"

The two aircraft collided around 11 a.m. north of Charleston

(CNN) An Air Force F-16 fighter jet and a small private airplane collided Tuesday over South Carolina, killing two people aboard the civilian aircraft and prompting the military pilot to eject, authorities said.

Someone called 911 shortly after 11 a.m. to report the collision about 30 miles north of Charleston near Lewisfield Planation in Berkeley County, county spokesman Michael Mule said. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters indicated the aircraft hit each other a little farther south, about 11 miles from Charleston.

The F-16 was on an instrument-training mission into Joint Base Charleston.

"All the facts at this point indicate that the pilot was talking to air traffic control ... when the accident occurred," said Col. Stephen Jost, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, where the pilot is based.

An investigation is underway into the events leading up to the collision, including why the planes were so close to each other.

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