Two US Navy jets ‘collided in mid-air’ over South Texas
One of the aircraft managed to land safely. Photo: US Navy
Two US Navy training jets have collided over South Texas, forcing the two crew members on one plane to bail out and leaving one of them with minor injuries.
The two British-built T-45C Goshawk jets collided about 11am on Monday local time over Ricardo, about 80 kilometres southwest of Corpus Christi.
One jet with a student and instructor aboard was able to land safely at nearby Naval Air Station Kingsville.
The other jet crashed nearby after its student pilot and instructor ejected safely. One of them was treated for minor injuries at a Corpus Christi hospital.
Naval Air Training took to Twitter to confirm the two Goshawks “collided in mid-air” in Ricardo, Texas.
“One pilot was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital Kleberg for minor injuries. The incident is currently under investigation and the U.S. Navy is cooperating fully with local authorities,” the post read.
Tweet from @CNATRA
No cause has been determined, and the Navy and local officials were investigating. They reported no other injuries or notable collateral damage.
Student Naval aviator Lt. JG Madeline Swegle, assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, stands by a British-built T-45C Goshawk training aircraft. Photo: AAP
The crash came five days after a midair collision between a small plane and a regional air freighter near Denver. Both aircraft were able to land safely without injuries.
More to come.
-with AAP