The U.S. Air Force’s T-38C Talon trainer aircraft which crashed on Friday near Montgomery, Alabama killed an American and a Japanese Pilot.
The jet crashed at about 5:30 p.m. Friday near Dannelly Field in Montgomery.
The Force on Sunday confirmed that the American was a flying instructor and the Japanese was a student pilot from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force
The Air Force identified the dead American as Scot Ames Jr., a 24-year-old instructor pilot with the 50th Flying Training Squadron at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. He was from Pekin, Indiana.
The name of the student pilot is not being released at this time, and will be provided according to Japan’s process.
The Columbus Air Force Base is home of the 14th Flying Training Wing. The wing’s mission is specialized undergraduate pilot training.
Col. Seth Graham, 14th Flying Training Wing commander, said at a Saturday press conference that “We are a close-knit family and the loss of two of our teammates affects us all.
“The strength of our bond is what will help us get through it together. My thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and our teammates today.”
As a result, all flying operations out of Columbus Air Force Base have been suspended for the foreseeable future. Flights may resume in a few days, Graham said.
Meanwhile, the cause of the incident is still unknown and under investigation but it is believed the pilots were flying a training mission.
