Air Force pilot killed and two others injured during 'mishap involving two trainer aircraft' in Texas following string of fatal military accidents
An Air Force pilot was killed and two others injured Friday morning in a 'mishap' involving two trainer aircrafts at a Texas base.
Officials at Laughlin Air Force Base said an accident involving a pair T-38 Talon jets occurred on the runway around 10am.
One of the injured pilots was taken to San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. Their current condition remains unknown.
The other pilot was treated at Val Verde Regional Medical Center and discharged.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Friday's incident follows a string of fatal military accidents.
An Air Force pilot was killed and two others injured Friday morning in a 'mishap' involving two trainer aircrafts at a Texas base
Officials at Laughlin Air Force Base said an accident involving a pair T-38 Talon jets occurred on the runway around 10am
Col. Craig Prather issued a statement, sharing his thoughts are with the victims and their families.
'Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with our pilots involved in this mishap and their families,' he said.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
The T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer. The Air Force says the jet is used in a variety of roles because of its 'design, economy of operations, ease of maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record'.
The T-38 Talon is primarily used by Air Education and Training Command for joint specialized undergraduate pilot training.
Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration also use the T-38A in various roles.
The T-38 Talon is primarily used by Air Education and Training Command for joint specialized undergraduate pilot training
Earlier this month, the US Navy fired a nuclear submarine's Commanding Officer, Executive Officer and Chief of the Boat for 'loss of confidence' after their vessel collided with an 'uncharted seamount' in the South China Sea.
The $3.1 billion USS Connecticut's CO Cmdr Cameron Aljilani, XO Lt Cmdr Patrick Cashin and COB Cory Rodgers were relieved of their positions on November 3.
A statement from the Navy said that the October 2 crash, which injured 11 crew members, could have been prevented with 'sound judgement, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning'.
An investigation determined the USS Connecticut grounded on an uncharted seamount while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region.
The training mission, which consists of a special-operations unit and contingent of Marines is believed to have been in operation for at least a year.
Three interim officers were ordered to fill in and the Seawolf-class submarine is reportedly in Guam 'undergoing damage assessment' overseen by the Naval Sea Systems Command.
The 7th Fleet, which operates in the western Pacific, said an investigation had concluded that the USS Connecticut (pictured in Puget Sound, Washington, in 2016) smashed into a geological formation and not another vessel on October 2
Specialist Maxwell Hockin was identified October 13 as the soldier found dead at Fort Hood
Last month, a Fort Hood soldier was unresponsive behind his company barracks and declared dead shortly after.
Specialist Maxwell Hockin, 26, joined the military in 2017 and was most recently assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
Hockin earned a number of decorations, including the Army Good Conduct medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, and was said to have 'an excellent work ethic'.
His death is the latest in a string of incidents involving soldiers connected to Fort Hood, with 31 people having died in 2020 alone.
In September, a military training jet crashed into a residential area of Lake Worth, Texas, leaving three homes damaged and two pilots injured after they ejected from the plane - with one in critical condition after landing on power lines.
The pilots, an instructor and a student, were using the aircraft as part of a military training course near Corpus Christi International Airport. The instructor pilot was in stable condition after being ejected in the neighborhood.
A witness said the student pilot was engulfed in flames before he hit the powerlines.
Video footage posted to Facebook showed the parachute wrapped around the overhead cables.
Debris damaged three Lake Worth homes with the plane being found in one of the backyards.
The aircraft was a Navy T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft that was assigned from Training Air Wing 2 at Naval Air Station in Kingsville, according to a statement from Chief of Naval Air Training.
Traces of thick black smoke rising from the crash was seen behind residential homes in Lake Worth, Texas
Smoke from the crash is seen from the 4000 blocks between Tejas Trail and Dakota Trail
Friday's accident also follows reports of several fatal small plane crashes across the US this week.
A single-engine air tanker pilot was found dead Tuesday in Colorado after his plane crashed while fighting a wildfire near Rocky Mountain National Park.
The pilot, identified as Army and Air Force veteran Marc Thor Olson, had 42 years of flying experience. Olson was hired by the Larimer County Sheriff's Office to fight the wildfire because of its likelihood of a quick spread in dry, windy conditions.
He was recruited because the blaze was too dangerous for firefighters to battle it on the ground, the Associated Press reported.
The plane dropped a load of water on the fire before Olson reported turbulent conditions and crashed.
There were also two fatal plane crashes in Michigan this week.
Four people died in a plane crash Saturday on Michigan's Beaver Island west of Mackinaw City. The twin-engine Britten-Norman plane was flying from Charlevoix, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The second crash resulted in the deaths of Pilot Kenneth Daniel Yott, 61, of Pontiac and 21-year-old passenger Corbin Dennis Kennedy, of Howell.
The pair were found dead Monday afternoon in the Beechcraft King Air plane in a wooded area of Charlevoix County.
It is unclear what caused the crash, however authorities are investigating.
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