Saturday, June 23, 2018

Light attack plane crashes in New Mexico

Published time: 23 Jun, 2018 01:43

An A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft. © Omar IbrahimReuters

A US Air Force light attack plane crashed Friday over a bombing range in New Mexico. One pilot was injured, while the condition of the second one was not disclosed.

An A-29 Super Tucano aircraft crashed over the Red Rio Bombing Range, located some 105 kilometers north of the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, the 49th Wing said in a statement.

One aircrew member sustained minor injuries and was airlifted to a local hospital, the statement said. Information on the second pilot “will be released when it is available,” it added.

The crashed A-29 was taking part in training as part of the Holloman base’s Light Attack Experiment, a program aimed at creating a fleet of new lightweight attack aircraft. The Air Force is considering the A-29 Super Tucano and the AT-6 Wolverine as the candidates. The base in New Mexico is used for demonstration flights, which started in May, Military.com said.