Tuesday, January 18, 2005
(01-18) 16:10 PST FREDERICK, Okla. (AP) --
An Air Force training jet and a plane used to dust crops collided Tuesday over southwestern Oklahoma, killing the crop-duster pilot, authorities said.
The T-37 training jet from Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, struck the ag plane over a rural area southeast of Frederick, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman John Clabes said.
The burning wreckage fell into a field. By mid-afternoon, the crash site had been cordoned off by military personnel.
The pilot of the crop-duster was killed in the crash, which was reported around 11:30 a.m., said Jimmie Goodin, a dispatcher for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in Altus.
The ag plane was being flown from its manufacturer to its new owner in South Dakota, said a spokesman for the Texas manufacturer, Air Tractor.
The two Air Force pilots aboard the jet, which was assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing, parachuted to safety and suffered minor injuries. Officials at the Air Force base said a nearby land owner picked them up and helped them get medical care.
A base spokesman said he did not know what caused the collision, which happened at about 5,000 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board was to investigate.
The Air Force pilots were identified as Capt. Christopher S. Otis and 2nd Lt. Roderick V. James. Officials did not release their ages or hometowns.
In 2002, two T-37 training jets collided about 80 miles east of Frederick while flying in close formation. No one was injured. Base officials at the time said that it was the first accident involving the training jets since 1978.
The Air Force trains American and NATO pilots on the two-seat, twin-engine T-37s at Sheppard.
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/01/18/national1816EST0720.DTL
So, is this pretty much the end of his training?
(01-18) 16:10 PST FREDERICK, Okla. (AP) --
An Air Force training jet and a plane used to dust crops collided Tuesday over southwestern Oklahoma, killing the crop-duster pilot, authorities said.
The T-37 training jet from Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, struck the ag plane over a rural area southeast of Frederick, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman John Clabes said.
The burning wreckage fell into a field. By mid-afternoon, the crash site had been cordoned off by military personnel.
The pilot of the crop-duster was killed in the crash, which was reported around 11:30 a.m., said Jimmie Goodin, a dispatcher for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in Altus.
The ag plane was being flown from its manufacturer to its new owner in South Dakota, said a spokesman for the Texas manufacturer, Air Tractor.
The two Air Force pilots aboard the jet, which was assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing, parachuted to safety and suffered minor injuries. Officials at the Air Force base said a nearby land owner picked them up and helped them get medical care.
A base spokesman said he did not know what caused the collision, which happened at about 5,000 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board was to investigate.
The Air Force pilots were identified as Capt. Christopher S. Otis and 2nd Lt. Roderick V. James. Officials did not release their ages or hometowns.
In 2002, two T-37 training jets collided about 80 miles east of Frederick while flying in close formation. No one was injured. Base officials at the time said that it was the first accident involving the training jets since 1978.
The Air Force trains American and NATO pilots on the two-seat, twin-engine T-37s at Sheppard.
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/01/18/national1816EST0720.DTL
So, is this pretty much the end of his training?
