JOEX
12-03-2002, 06:32 PM
http://www.koin.com/webnews/20023/20021203_jetcrashc.shtml
Plane Bursts Into Flames After Hitting Elk
Pilots Execute Controlled Crash Landing
WARRENTON, Ore. -- A small jet burst into flames Tuesday morning after slamming into an elk just before takeoff.
The Lear 36 jet, on loan to the Canadian military, was traveling about 120 mph on the runway at the Astoria Regional Airport when it collided with the animal.
The elk hit the left wing and apparently either ruptured the fuel tank or damaged the engine and caused a fire.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud boom and seeing a ball of fire around 6:15 a.m.
The two civilian pilots deployed a chute and brought the aircraft to rest in the safety area just beyond the runway. The pilots, along with one civilian passenger and one member of the Canadian military, escaped uninjured before flames destroyed the plane.
Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Warrenton Fire Department worked to extinguish the blaze.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators arrived on the scene around 10 a.m.
The plane was being used for training exercises off the Oregon Coast.
Fencing surrounds about three-quarters of the airport. Even before Tuesday's crash, a complete fence was in the works.
Plane Bursts Into Flames After Hitting Elk
Pilots Execute Controlled Crash Landing
WARRENTON, Ore. -- A small jet burst into flames Tuesday morning after slamming into an elk just before takeoff.
The Lear 36 jet, on loan to the Canadian military, was traveling about 120 mph on the runway at the Astoria Regional Airport when it collided with the animal.
The elk hit the left wing and apparently either ruptured the fuel tank or damaged the engine and caused a fire.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud boom and seeing a ball of fire around 6:15 a.m.
The two civilian pilots deployed a chute and brought the aircraft to rest in the safety area just beyond the runway. The pilots, along with one civilian passenger and one member of the Canadian military, escaped uninjured before flames destroyed the plane.
Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Warrenton Fire Department worked to extinguish the blaze.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators arrived on the scene around 10 a.m.
The plane was being used for training exercises off the Oregon Coast.
Fencing surrounds about three-quarters of the airport. Even before Tuesday's crash, a complete fence was in the works.