T-38C ulykke i Texas - ASN

Terje B. Johansen, Helge Olav Sandnes og undertegnede, var i 1966 på språkskolen ved Lackland AFB ved San Antonio i Texas. Vi leide bil og besøkte Øystein Midthus som gikk på flyskolen ved Laughlin AFB helt sør i staten. Vi tre nevnt over havnet på henholdsvis Webb AFB i Texas, Craig AFB i Alabama, og Williams AFB i Arizona. Vi begynte på 338 skvadron på Ørland. (Red.) 

T-38A Williams AFB 1967 - Foto: Per Gram

Date:	19-NOV-2021
Time:
Type:	Northrop T-38C Talon
Owner/operator:	US Air Force (USAF)
Registration:
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants:
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Laughlin AFB (DLF/KDLF), TX -    United States of America
Phase:
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF/KDLF), TX
Destination airport:	Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF/KDLF), TX

Narrative:
Around 10:00 AM local time, two T-38C Talons from Laughlin AFB, TX collided on the runway, resulting in the loss of one pilot and two others injured. One of the injured is in critical condition and was airlifted to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The other aircraft was seen inverted on the ground.

Main image: file photo of a T-38 Talon aircraft assigned to the 87th Flying Training Squadron, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, taken in September 2021 at Nellis AFB (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis). The aircraft should be the same involved in the crash at its homebase on Nov. 19, 2021. (Image sent us by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous but that we have already seen being shared across social media).

Photos shared on social media showed one T-38C sitting upright next to a runway with a guide sign next to it and part of its nose missing. The ejection seat appears to still be in place on this aircraft.

The Aviation-Safety.net website lists 101 accident “occurrences” involving the T-38 Talon in their database while a separate reference cites that, “More than 210 aircraft losses and ejections have been documented over the lifetime of the T-38”. This latest accident is the fourth T-38 crash in 2021 and resulted in the third fatality so far this year. The accident rate in the aging supersonic advanced trainer appear to be accelerating in frequency during the past two years. If you search in our archive, unfortunately, you’ll find several reports about T-38 incidents.

The T-38 Talon is expected to be replaced by the new Boeing T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer in the future.