A Navy training jet crashed into a neighborhood near Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, damaging several homes and sending the pilot and a student aviator to the hospital, officials said.
The T-45C Goshawk jet trainer went down about 11:15 a.m. in Lake Worth, Texas — about two miles northeast of the Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. It was assigned to Training Air Wing 2 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, located in south Texas.
The pilots were conducting a routine training flight that originated at Corpus Christi International Airport. Navy officials later Sunday said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
“The safety team is en-route for damage assessment,” according to a statement from the Chief of Naval Air Training. “The Navy is cooperating with local authorities.”
The instructor pilot and the student aviator both ejected from the disabled aircraft, authorities said.
“The pilot ejected and was caught in some power lines,” Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian said in a press conference. “The other pilot ejected and was found in the neighborhood nearby.”
Both were taken to area hospitals. The instructor pilot is in stable condition. The student’s condition wasn’t immediately known but he survived the crash and is being treated for his injuries, Navy officials said.
Their identities have not been released.
The jet damaged three homes in the neighborhood but local officials said there didn’t appear to be any reported injuries among the residents.
“This incident could have been much worse, knowing that this plane went down in a residential area,” said Chief Ryan Arthur of the Lake Worth Fire Department.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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