Investigation Underway After Military Training Flight Crash

An investigation is underway after a military training flight crash in a north Texas neighborhood Sunday that left two pilots injured—one severely—and multiple homes damaged, according to military officials.

The crash prompted a command-wide safety stand down of the Navy T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft amid the military probe into the cause of the crash.

Local authorities called the lack of casualties on the ground a miracle.

The two pilots conducting the routine training flight ejected from the T-45C Goshawk jet trainer as it went down shortly before 11 a.m. in Lake Worth, Texas. The aircraft, which was assigned to Training Air Wing 2 at Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas, had originated from Corpus Christi International Airport (KCRP).

The aircraft struck the ground in a civilian neighborhood about two miles from Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, damaging three homes in the process, Chief of Naval Air Training Command (CNATRA) confirmed Sunday evening.

“The instructor pilot was reported in stable condition; the student naval aviator was reported in serious condition—his injuries were not life-threatening,” CNATRA said Sunday evening.

“It’s too early to determine the cause of the crash. The crash investigation team is onsite and will conduct a full investigation,” Lt. Michelle Tucker, spokesperson for CNATRA, told Flying.

“CNATRA is conducting a T-45C safety stand-down across the command in order to address causal factors associated with the crash,” Tucker said. “The only exception to this stand-down is that the aircraft carrier qualification detachment currently operating aboard USS George H.W. Bush will continue.

“We are taking this crash very seriously and will conduct a full investigation.”

This is the second crash involving a T-45C in four months for the command. On May 19, a crash was reported in Ricardo, Texas, after a mid-air collision, according to CNATRA.

Immediately following the crash, according to local first responders, area residents reported seeing two parachutes near the site. Videos posted online from witnesses near the scene show a thick column of black burning jet fuel billowing above roof tops.

One of the pilots was snared in power lines and was electrocuted before off-duty firefighters and a police officer were able to free him, Lake Worth Police Department said.

“Although badly burnt, the pilot was conscious, alert and breathing,” LWPD said. “A second pilot was located a short distance away in a wooded area,” and had serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident was a “neighborhood miracle,” the police department said in a statement. “Since Carswell Air Force Base opened in 1942, there have been thousands, perhaps even millions, of flights over the City of Lake Worth without any serious mishap. Even today, the fact that there were no casualties is indeed a miracle.”

On the ground, at least three homes were damaged in the crash, and three residents received minor injuries, and were treated and released at the scene, Fort Worth Fire Department said. More than three dozen homes lost power immediately following the incident, it said, noting the outcome could have been much worse.

“We are incredibly fortunate that the plane crashed in the backyards of the homes and not the residences themselves,” FWFD said.