A USAF T-38 Talon II advanced jet trainer is seen on its back at Vance AFB following this morning's accident. (Photo: Enid News & Eagle via Facebook)
Two Pilots Killed in Incident Involving Two T-38 Advanced Jet Trainers.
Two pilots are confirmed dead in the crash of two USAF T-38 Talon II advanced jet trainers at Vance AFB in Oklahoma.
A photo posted on the Enid News & Eagle website showed one T-38 Talon II lying upside down with significant damage on what appears to be a runway. Live video feed from the KOCO 5 News helicopter showed a second T-38 Talon II stopped on its landing gear with both canopies open.
Two USAF T-38 Talon II advanced jet trainers on the field at Vance AFB following this morning’s accident as video taped by KOCO 5 News helicopter. (Photo: Enid News & Eagle via Facebook)
Following the accident, a flight restriction of 5 miles and 5,000 feet was imposed on the area.
The Vance AFB Facebook page posted an update that said, “At the time of the accident, the aircraft were performing a routine training mission”. The social media news release went on to say, “There were two people on board each aircraft”.
Based on our records, this was the sixth crash involving a T-38 in two years. Five crashed in 2018, with the last one lost on Nov. 14, 2018. Click here to read the reports we wrote after the previous crashes.
This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
Tom Demerly is a feature writer, journalist, photographer and editorialist who has written articles that are published around the world on TheAviationist.com, TACAIRNET.com, Outside magazine, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, The Dearborn Press & Guide, National Interest, Russia’s government media outlet Sputnik, and many other publications. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. Tom Demerly served in an intelligence gathering unit as a member of the U.S. Army and Michigan National Guard. His military experience includes being Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Cycle C-6-1) and as a Scout Observer in a reconnaissance unit, Company “F”, 425th INF (RANGER/AIRBORNE), Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU). Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft.
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