T-38A crashes south of CAFB

COLUMBUS, Miss. - A T-38A Talon training aircraft crashed Nov. 7 about 20 miles south of Columbus Air Force Base. The plane was assigned to the 49th Fighter Training Squadron and was "rendered inoperable and unrecoverable upon initial takeoff,” Col. Jeremy Bergin, the base’s 14th Training Wing vice commander, told The Associated Press. The pilot, whose name was not immediately released, but identified as an instructor-pilot, ejected safely and was taken to a local hospital for observation. “We continuously train our pilots to react appropriately for all emergency situations such as the incident that occurred (Monday),” Col. Bergin said in a news release. The crash is under investigation. CAFB is home of the 14th Flying Training Wing of Air Education and Training Command’s 19th Air Force. The wing has an average of 260 flights each day on three parallel runways. (The AP 11/07/22)