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4 hurt as stealth jet crashes near Baltimore
Witness: 'It was absolutely horrible'
September 14, 1997
Web posted at: 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT)MIDDLE RIVER, Maryland (CNN) -- An Air Force stealth fighter crashed into a Baltimore area neighborhood during an air show Sunday, injuring four people on the ground and leaving two houses ablaze, fire officials said.
No deaths were reported, and the pilot ejected safely, officials said.
The F-117 stealth fighter crashed into Bowley's Condo Marina on Chesapeake Bay, near the Glen Martin State Airport, said Capt. Steve Gisriel of the Baltimore County Fire Department.
First video from the crash
1.2MB/24 sec. QuickTime movie
The plane, carrying approximately 11,000 pounds of fuel, crashed as it was taking part in the Chesapeake Air Show, Gisriel said.
Four people on the ground were injured and two houses in this suburb east of Baltimore were engulfed in flames, he said.
None of the injuries was believed to be serious. It was not known whether the injured persons were in the houses or outside at the time of the crash.
Air Force spokesman Capt. Byron James confirmed that the F-117 went down and that the pilot ejected, but he had no other information.
The pilot was being treated by emergency medical personnel, Gisriel said.
Witness: 'It was absolutely horrible'
Sharon Schuchardt, who was watching the air show from a boat, witnessed the crash.
"It was absolutely horrible," she said. "It's something nobody in their lifetime would ever want to experience. It was huge, a total explosion."
The left wing "totally separated" from the plane, she said. "At first we thought it was part of the act ... and then the plane went down."
Sharon Schuchardt
Witness"The plane was flying over, and the tail just flew right off..."
AIFF or WAV
(195 K / 18 sec. audio)
Kimberly Chaapel
Witness"He started a flat spin, then he started rolling head over tail..."
AIFF or WAV
(197 K / 18 sec. audio)
"First we heard him eject...that was the first bang we heard...
AIFF or WAV
(243 K / 23 sec. audio)
"We just kept hearing popping sounds ... the tires or the gas tanks."
An Air Force general who witnessed the accident told Pentagon officials that he also thought he saw a piece of the plane come off while the fighter was in flight.
Fire officials said they had no idea yet what caused the jet to crash.
Firefighters and rescue workers from the Baltimore County fire and police departments, the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard were using marine and land-based equipment to respond to the crash.
The F-117 is a single-seat plane and was used in the Persian Gulf War to bomb heavily defended targets.
This is not the first crash of an F-117, but Air Force officials could not immediately say how many crashes there have been.
Related story:
- Stealth fighter's mystique adds to its arsenal - September 13, 1996
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