A military aircraft crashed into a residential area in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 19, leaving two pilots injured, three homes severely damaged, and several people being treated for injuries, officials said.
The Lake Worth Fire Department wrote on Twitter that the crash occurred during a military training exercise. The agency said that the plane, which wasn’t identified, went down around the 4000 blocks of Tejas Trail and Dakota Trail.
The two pilots ejected before the plane crashed into the lake.
“This incident could have been much worse knowing that this plane went down in a residential area,” Lake Worth Fire Chief Ryan Arthur said of the crash, which was reported to authorities shortly before 11 a.m. local time.
One of the pilots was electrocuted after being caught in power lines, Lake Worth police said in a statement, adding that “although badly burnt, the pilot was conscious, alert and breathing.” Police said the second pilot was found in a wooded area a short distance away. Both were taken to area hospitals.
The chief of naval air training in Corpus Christi said in a Facebook post Sunday evening that the instructor pilot was in stable condition, while the student naval aviator was in serious condition.
Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian told WFAA-TV that homes in the area are being evacuated. About 1,300 customers in the neighborhood are without power, officials told the station.
Witnesses told KXAS-5 that two people appeared to have ejected from the aircraft. One of them was seriously injured after getting tangled in power lines.
“I was in my car on [State Highway] 199 right in front of the donut shop when the pilot landed on the powerlines,” Cara Camp said. “While driving, I heard a loud explosion and debris was hitting the car.”
FWFD PIO on scene of a military training aircraft crash in Lake Worth,TX. 2 homes heavily damaged, currently 2-3 patients being treated at this time.
— Fort Worth Fire Department (@FortWorthFire) September 19, 2021
“I knew there are old ladies in that house that it happened at and I was banging on their door but they wouldn’t come out because they thought it was just a car, so I grabbed them out,” Deramus said, according to KXAS. “The house behind that, I ran over to the next street and got that lady out of that house because she’s paralyzed and she needed to get out.”
“I’m having anxiety, but all I wanted to do was save those old ladies because I’ve known them since I was really, really, little,” she said. “They’re OK physically.”
Another woman posted video footage from the scene, saying that she couldn’t believe “we just saw a plane crash” in Lake Worth, adding to “please pray” for the victims.
The neighborhood is located about a mile north of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. It isn’t clear where the plane is based, however.
No further details were immediately available.
Lake Worth is located northwest of Fort Worth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
