T-38 Crash: Pilots Survive After Ejecting From Plane

A T-38 crashed this morning in Texas. Both pilots were able to eject from the plane and only suffered minor injuries.

According to The Texas Home Page, the T-38 crashed a few miles south of the Sheppard Air Force Base. The cause of the strike hasn’t been officially announced yet but one of the pilots said that the incident was caused by a bird strike.

The Times Record News reports that Major Chris Thompson was giving 1st Lieutenant Julius Dressbach are part of the Sheppard Air Force Base’s Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. Major Thompson was giving Dressbach a flying lesson when the plane was reportedly hit by a bird strike. Both pilots were able to eject from the plane and escaped the wreck with only minor injuries.

Sheriff David Duke said: “The deputies did tell me that the pilot that was injured apparently was hung in the trees and fell through the trees to get down while trying to get out of it. He was covered with jet fuel but then again, from the crash and their ejection and coming down through it and the fire. He had made a comment that he was involved in the fire ball when he went through it and he had some minor burns on his face and neck.”

Melissa Baker, a resident who lives near the crash site, said that she heard the crash at about 7 am this morning.

Baker said: “All of a sudden you hear a big loud noise, it sounded like a blow torch and then just a big loud bang, so we flew out of bed, threw shoes on went outside and you just see a big mushroom cloud everywhere.”

Here’s a video showing the aftermath of the T-38 crash in Texas.