As scary as it may sound, even seemingly safe procedures involving aircraft pose a mortal danger to those taking part in them. Sadly, this recently proved true with a “mishap” at a Texas military base that resulted in an Air Force pilot dying and injuring two others.
The accident occurred at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. Sharing a news release through their official Twitter account, it talks about the incident. However, the release itself doesn’t say much and is rather vague. Stating one pilot was killed and two were injured, the release says a “mishap involving two T-38C Talon trainer aircraft” occurred at 10:00 a.m. on November 19.
The release continues, stating they transported one of the injured pilots to Val Verde Regional Medical Center. There, the pilot received treatment and the hospital released them. Unfortunately, the other pilot remains in critical condition, with Brooke Army Medical Center professionals currently treating them.
Col. Craig Prather, commander of the 47th Flying Training Wing, provided his own comments in the release on the matter. “Losing teammates is unbelievably painful and it is with a heavy heart I express my sincere condolences,” he stated. “Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with our pilots involved in this mishap and their families.”
As of now, we don’t know the identity of any of the involved pilots. The base intends to release their names 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified and informed of the tragedy. Concluding, the release states the “mishap” investigation is still ongoing.
The release also encourages those curious to follow the base’s official social media accounts for updates.
Air Force Training Accident Results in Two Mortalities
It’s a sad reality aircraft accidents occur, but what’s even sadder is it happens more frequently than you might think. Earlier this year, a training mission left two pilots dead after their jet crashed around Montgomery Regional Airport.
Back in February, a U.S. Air Force instructor pilot and a trainee died in a Montgomery aircraft crash. They identified the instructor as Scot Ames Jr. and the other as a student pilot from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. Authorities left the latter pilot anonymous, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Though unclear what caused the accident, the jet crashed into a wooded area near Montgomery airport. The tower operator reported multiple pilots talked about problems with the sun, so that may have played a part.
Col. Seth Graham, 14th Flying Training Wing commander, released an official statement expressing his discontent. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two pilots involved in this incident,” he stated. “There are no words that can describe the sadness that accompanies the loss of our teammates.”
