AIR CRASH RESCUE NEWS:------
December 20, 2002 - Air Force Training Jets Collide in Okla.
DUNCAN, Oklahoma (USA) - Two Air Force training jets from Sheppard Air Force Base collided Friday in a remote area of southern Oklahoma. All four people aboard the planes survived, military officials said.
The Air Force base in Wichita Falls, Texas, issued a statement saying one of the T-37 jets was able to fly back to the base and land safely with two people aboard.
The two people in the other jet ejected before it crashed in a field near Lake Waurika, south of Duncan, and were taken to the base hospital for examination. The crash occurred about a half-mile from an elementary school.
The Air Force base did not describe the extent of the damage on the airplane that was able to land, other than to say the pilot was not able to extend its landing gear.
The base said a board of military officers would investigate the crash.
The T-37, a twin-engine jet built by the Cessna Aircraft Co., has dual controls, ejection seats and a clamshell-type canopy that can be jettisoned. The student and instructor sit side-by-side in the cockpit of the two-seat jet.
The aging T-37s first entered service in 1956 and cost about $167,000 each.
