Officials said that they lost two people in a crash. According to the statement, a military training jet crashed in Alabama on Friday. The accident took place at the Montgomery regional airport in Alabama. The flight is supposedly a training exercise that claimed two lives.
The executive airport director Marshall J. Taggard Jr. announced that the airport got to know about the crash at about 5:05 pm. It was adjacent to a wooded area. Though the incident took place near a residential community, Taggard said that no structures on the ground were hit by the trainer jet.
2 Reported Dead In Military Jet Crash
Two pilots got killed in the crash when the military jet landed in an adjacent wooded area to the Montgomery airport facility. The airport authorities were informed immediately after the crash.
The United States Air Force also commented on the incident. According to the statement, the crashed jet was a Northrop T-38 trainer. It was based at the 14th flying training Wing at Columbus Air force base. The training wing is in Mississippi.
T-38 trainer jets are twin-seat supersonic trainer jets. T-38 is the first trainer jets that fly with speed more than the speed of sound. Used and produced widely throughout the globe, the United States air force flies most of the T-38 jets. As of 2021, these are still in use. Weighing about 3,500 kg, the T-38 trainer jets can achieve a maximum speed of 1,381 kilometers per hour.
According to Taggard, the trainer T-38 jet that crashed in the woods was flying to a base in Tallahassee in Florida.
The Nirthrop T-38 trainers are used by both the US navy and airforce for training. A student accompanied by a trainer or instructor are generally allowed to fly the jet.
However, it is not clear if the pilot was trying to land at the location of the crash. According to the authorities, the Montegori airport in Alabama also houses an air force facility. The facility known as the Dannelley Field is home to the Alabama Air National Guards of the 187th Fighter Wing. There is a possibility that the pilot was trying to land at the facility.
The US air force had started an investigation into the accident. The crash incident will be looked into by a safety investigation board as per the statement.
It is still not clear what causes the military jet to crash into the woods.
Col. Seth Graham, 14th flying training wing commander, expressed his condolences to the two pilots’ bereaved families. He said that the loss of two of the teammates could not be described in words. They are really sad about the accident that took their lives. He said that their thoughts and prayers are with the family who is bearing the loss and pain.
Although an investigation team was sent to the accident scene soon after the crash by the national transportation safety board (NTSB), they claimed that since the accident involves a military aircraft, the NTSB does not have any jurisdiction over the plane involved and the crash.
The residents near the accident site in Alabama are also asked to maintain distance. The Montgomery County, Emergency Management Agency, had directed the nearby residents on Friday, soon after the crash, to stay away from the area. Apart from the Emergency Management Agency, firefighters, police and local responders reached the scene as part of a normal process.
Commuters are being asked to avoid the intersection of Selma Highway and Lamar Road.
According to Taggard, no flights have been affected due to the accident. According to him, the arrival and departure schedule of all the flights are unaffected and unchanged.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.