Two Air Force pilots died Feb. 19 when their T-38 Talon crashed near an airport in central Alabama.
The crash occurred about 5:30 p.m. near Dannelly Field in Montgomery.
The pilots and aircraft were assigned to the 50th Flying Training Squadron, 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.
The pilots were flying a training mission, and their names are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
“As you may have already seen, one of our T-38s went down near Dannelly Field in Montgomery, Ala.,” said a statement posted on the Columbus AFB Facebook page. “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you both of our teammates from the 50th Flying Training Squadron were killed in the accident.
“Please keep the families of these Airmen in your thoughts and prayers. Losing teammates is unbelievably painful but we will get through this together,” the statement continued.
Dannelly Field is a civilian-military airport seven miles southwest of Montgomery. The field is home to the Alabama National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing.
Marshall Taggart, executive director of the Montgomery Regional Airport, told news outlets that the aircraft crashed in a wooded area near the airport. News outlets showed a number of police cars and fire trucks at the scene.
The wing uses Dannelly Field regularly in landing exercises for pilots in training, WFSA reported, adding that no one on the ground was injured and that ingoing and outgoing flights were not impacted because the incident happened off base.
The wing is responsible for the 52-weeek specialized undergraduate pilot training mission at Columbus AFB.
The cause of the crash is unknown at this time, but the Air Force announced that a safety investigation board will convene to investigate.
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