USAF T-6A Training Plane Crashes In San Antonio, Texas. Two pilots safely ejected from an Air Force plane Tuesday afternoon before it crashed in a field on the far North Side, prompting a suspension of training flights at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
Both pilots survived the bailout from the T-6 Texan II training aircraft with minor injuries. The plane crashed in a field near Nacogdoches Road just outside Loop 1604 in the northern suburban fringe, where such wide-open acreage is rapidly shrinking.
The commander of the 12th Flying Training Wing suspended flights of the two-seat, turboprop T-6A. It is the service’s mainstay trainer for novice pilots at several bases in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi under the Air Education and Training Command.
NEW INFORMATION: The plane involved in the crash is a T-6 Trainer. Use of this model was suspended earlier this year due to hypoxia concerns but use was later reinstated.
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/O8i46CyMA2 pic.twitter.com/H7rNgjnQn3
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The cause of the crash wasn’t known, but an Air Force investigation team was on the ground along with military and civilian firefighters, said Randy Martin, the wing’s spokesman.
UPDATED MEDIA RELEASE / 12th FTW T-6 CRASH: 12th FTW commander has convened interim safety board for T-6 Texan II crash; flying training operations suspended. Full release attached. @AirPowerSource pic.twitter.com/Y7gOe4OEp8
— AETC – First Command (@AETCommand) September 19, 2018
“Obviously, this is a serious accident, so we have to follow the protocol established by the Air Force,” Martin said.
At Randolph, the T-6A is used to train instructor pilots. The wing’s commander, Col. Mark Robinson, suspended training and “will evaluate its resumption over the coming hours,” Martin said.
HAPPENING NOW: An ambulance is leaving the scene of a T-6 plane crash. pic.twitter.com/nsuBj6U6O3
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) September 18, 2018
Robinson also established an interim safety board to preserve evidence until a formal safety board is established this week, Martin said.
No one on the ground was hurt. The aircraft appeared broken in two pieces after ripping a long skid mark into the earth.
BREAKING: Plane crash in field north of Rolling Oaks Mall is Air Force T-6 trainer out of @JBSA_Official Randolph
Two pilots ejected safely
More at 5pm on @News4SA pic.twitter.com/CvvDByToaU— Randy Beamer (@randybeamer) September 18, 2018
