The T-38 crash around 6:48 a.m. on Friday morning in northern Wichita Falls happened after a bird struck into the front canopy of the T-38. The two Air Force pilots ejected safely and sustained only minor injuries. However, the T-38, which is a two-seat, twin-engine jet, crashed into a heavily wooded area and burst into flames, reported TimesRecordNews from Wichita Falls on July 19, 2013.
“Authorities report the jet experienced a bird strike into the front canopy and one of the pilots had a leg injury. The accident occurred just south of Pecanway Drive and to the west of Horton Lane in northern Wichita Falls.”
The T-38 crash involved two pilots from Sheppard Air Force Base's Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT). The training program is part of the 80th Flying Training Wing. It is also the world's only internationally run pilot training program which includes student pilots from nine NATO countries including Belgium, Turkey, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada and the United States. Spain and Greece provide instructor pilots for the program.
The two T-38 pilots have been identified as instructor pilot Major Christopher Thompson and student pilot German 1st Lt. Julius Dressbach. After both T-38 pilots ejected safely, they were taken to two separate hospitals.
According to the official U.S. Air Force website, the T-38 is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer. Because of its exceptional safety record, the T-38 is being used for air education and training. The T-38C has a “glass cockpit” with “integrated avionics displays, head-up display and an electronic 'no drop bomb' scoring system.”
According to Sheppard Air Force Base officials, the T-38 involved in Friday’s morning crash was equipped with the latest technology which contributed to the two pilots being able to eject safely just shortly before the T-38 crashed. The latest technology that the T-38 had been recently updated with included new ejection seats.
According to Colonel Lance Bunch, who is the commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing, “when commanded by the pilot, the two seats are sequenced so that the pilot ejects first, and then a short delay later, the front cockpit students ejects also. Then the seat comes out and depending on the altitude above the ground is how quick their parachute deploys."
In Friday morning’s T-38 crash, the two pilots' parachutes deployed quickly after ejecting from the T-38 enabling them to land safely and sustaining only minor injuries.
The T-38 crash started a small fire in the wooded area in northern Wichita Falls but it was quickly taken care of by firefighters from Sheppard Air Force Base. An investigation into how a bird strike could bring down a T-38 is ongoing.
Source: Examiner.com
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