A T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft assigned to the 47th Flying Training Wing at Laughlin AFB, Tex., crashed Friday near the base during an undergraduate training sortie. The Del Rio News-Herald reported that witnesses saw both the student pilot and instructor eject from the T-6 before it skidded on the ground into a cloud of dust near Spofford, Tex. Laughlin officials said the instructor pilot and student were both safe. A board of officers will investigate the mishap. (Laughlin report by George McKnight)
USAF Pushes Safer F-16 Training After Contractor’s Death
Oct. 23, 2020
The Air Force revamped its F-16 Basic Course following a 2017 incident where an inexperienced student pilot strafed the wrong target and killed a military contractor. Now, students must fly their first nighttime close air support sortie with an instructor pilot in the rear seat of a two-person F-16D. If…