Two dead following military jet crash near Alabama airport

‘There are no words that can describe the sadness that accompanies the loss of our teammates,’ says colonel

Two pilots have died after a military jet crashed near to Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama.

The airport’s executive director Marshall Taggart confirmed on Friday evening that the plane crashed on Friday in a wooded area near to the airport at around 5:30pm.

The jet, a T-38 trainer aircraft assigned to the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, was flying to Tallahassee, Florida, at the time of the crash, Mr Taggart confirmed in a statement.

Mr Taggart told the Montgomery Advertiser that airport tower officials said that several pilots had complained about the sun shortly before the crash, which occurred just before sunset.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two pilots involved in this incident,” the 14th Flying Training Wing commander colonel Seth Graham said in a statement on Friday.

“There are no words that can describe the sadness that accompanies the loss of our teammates,” he added.

The T-38 jet is generally used by the US Air Force and Navy for training pilots, typically carrying a student and instructor.

Mr Graham said that the pilots were flying a training mission at the time of the crash and confirmed that no houses or structures were damaged in the incident.

National Guard officials based at the airport alongside firefighters responded to the scene on Friday evening, emergency management director in Montgomery Christina Thornton confirmed to Fox News.

The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency urged residents to stay away from the scene of the crash. The airport’s arrival and departure schedule was not affected by the incident.

The names of the two pilots are currently being withheld until their next of kin can be informed of their deaths.

An investigation is underway and Columbus Air Force Base will hold a press conference about the incident at around 1pm on Saturday.