The U.S. Air Force has released the name of one of the pilots involved in the crash of its T-38C Talon II trainer aircraft at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas as German Air Force pilot, Maj. Christian C. Hartmann.

The T-8C trainer, assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing, crashed at about 10:30 am on Sept. 11 when it departed the runway prior to takeoff from the base.

Two pilots were involved in the crash and the other pilot was identified as U.S. Air Force pilot 1st Lt. Charles T. Walet. Walet is assigned to Vance AFB, Okla., and was on temporary duty to Sheppard. 1st Lt. Walet was transported to United Regional Medical Center in Wichita Falls as a precaution and Maj. Hartmann was transported to the Sheppard Clinic and treated for minor injuries. Both are reported to be in stable condition.

The 80th Flying Training Wing operates the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT), which trains combat pilots for 14 partner nations, which include Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Emergency crews responded to the scene immediately to provide medical support to the aircrew and also extinguished a small fire in and around the aircraft. An explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team from Fort Sill also responded as a precaution, to ensure all the explosive material associated with the ejection seats was safely expended. The scene was declared safe for recovery operations at about 12:45 p.m.

An investigation is underway to find the cause of the incident, the Air Force said in a statement.

There have been two T-38 crashes in recent months. On Aug. 17, a Talon II from Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma crashed 70 miles west of Enid, Oklahoma. On May. 23, a USAF Talon jet crashed in a remote area near the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. In both the crashes, the pilots ejected safely.

The last fatal crash of a Talon was in November last year in which one of the pilots was killed when the aircraft crashed near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas.





