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Two pilots injured, homes damaged after military aircraft crashes into Texas neighborhood, officials say

September 19, 2021 at 5:13 p.m. EDT
A T-45C Goshawk prepares to land on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Navy uses the T-45 to train new pilots for carrier-based operations. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Dasbach/U.S. Navy)

A military training aircraft crashed into a residential area near Fort Worth on Sunday, injuring two pilots and damaging homes, local authorities said.

Navy officials said the incident involved an instructor and a student who ejected from the T-45C Goshawk jet before it crashed in Lake Worth around 11 a.m. One of the pilots got caught in power lines while parachuting to the ground, while the other was found nearby, Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian said.

Two off-duty firefighters witnessed the crash and were the first to aid the pilots, the Fort Worth Fire Department said in a statement. One of the pilots was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and the other was taken for treatment by land.

Three homes were damaged and three residents suffered minor injuries — but local officials said the crash could have been far worse.

“We are incredibly fortunate that the plane crashed in the backyards of the homes and not the residences themselves,” fire officials said.

Authorities said both pilots ejected and were in the hospital after a military plane crashed in Lake Worth, Tex., on Sept. 19. No residents were hurt. (Video: Joshua Carroll/The Washington Post)

The accident marks the second time in six months that a Navy T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft has crashed in Texas. In March, a student and an instructor suffered minor injuries after crashing near a naval field in Orange Grove, 50 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.

Navy officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Washington Post seeking more information about the Sunday crash.

The crash in Lake Worth involved a “routine training flight” that began at Corpus Christi International Airport, Navy officials said on Twitter. The aircraft crashed two miles northeast of Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, a naval air station.

Videos and images shared on social media showed a dark plume of smoke rising from a street filled with trees and homes in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Military representatives from the Naval air station were on the scene, Manoushagian said.

Lake Worth Fire Chief Ryan Arthur said there was a “small amount of fire” after the crash, mostly in the plane that went down. Forty-four homes in the area were left without power. The Red Cross was assisting displaced residents.

Alex Horton contributed to this report.