Two Columbus Air Force Base pilots who ejected from a T-38C Talon II before it crashed outside the base Wednesday morning were released from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, CAFB spokespeople confirmed Wednesday.
The officials did not identify the pilots, other than to say they were a student pilot and instructor. The two were flying a routine training sortie Wednesday morning when the plane crashed just north of the base near the Monroe-Lowndes County line at about 8:30 a.m.
Lt. Col. Marc Deshaies, 14th Flying Training Operations Group deputy commander at CAFB, said at the time of the crash, officials’ highest priority was ensuring the pilots’ safety and said they were “ecstatic” that the pilots were safe and had been released from the hospital.
“We value so much our instructor and student pilot force,” he said. “These men and women sacrifice to serve and it’s absolutely at the forefront of the (CAFB) mission to care for them and for their families throughout all this and we are extremely, extremely thankful that they were able to eject safely from the aircraft.”
The aircraft went down in a wooded area near Barton Ferry Road. No houses or other structures were in the area. Authorities from the base, along with local law enforcement and fire departments, responded to the scene. They extinguished the fire and secured the area, the press release said.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. Deshaies said an interim safety board has been convened to preserve evidence and gather witness information and other data. Deshaies said he could not release any other information on the investigation.
CAFB suspended all flying operations for the day but resumed operations Thursday.
The $7 million T-38 is one of 87 T-38s in CAFB’s aircraft inventory. There are 233 total aircraft at CAFB. The twin-engine, high-altitude supersonic jet is used primarily by the Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command as an advanced jet pilot trainer, according to information CAFB released.
“This is to set up the pilots that are going to go off and fly typically fighter bomber type aircraft,” Deshaies said. “The aircraft is considered a high-performance aircraft and we’ve used it for a number of years. Just last year in particular flew … over 12,000 hours and nearly 12,000 sorties just here at Columbus Air Force Base.”
The Talons were largely manufactured in the 1960s with production ending in 1972. Upgrades to the aircraft, including replacements of major engine parts, have extended the Talon’s service life to 2020.
The T-38 that crashed Wednesday was manufactured in 1968, Deshaies said.
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