The driver of the truck was Chris Darnell, who had been part of a family that had been in the air show for some years and had been killed in the crash. Barbara Haluszka, who is the executive director of the show said “Chris had a crash, and the jet truck flipped over, and, unfortunately, he did not live,” she said in an interview on Saturday. “All other details are 100 percent under investigation.”
The racing truck, which is custom-built, was equipped with three jet engines and had 36,000 horsepower altogether crashed in the pyrotechnic part of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival which is hosted in Battle Creek Mich.
The videos taken by bystanders mainly showed a truck racing down a runway at the Battle Creek Executive Airport at Kellogg Field chasing the two planes, with fire blasting out of the back.
A large black and orange ball of fire is visible in the front of the video, as the vehicle which is called a Shockwave Jet Truck vanishes behind it and rolls out, tumbles along the runway and gasps of horror can be heard as the truck shatters into pieces.
The planes that were in the crash were a Zivko Edge 540 flown by Bill Stein and MXS-RH flown by Rob Holland, Ryan Traver said. Travers, a member of the festival board added that none of the pilots of the airplanes had been injured.
A member of the Federal Aviation Administration said that because the crash included a truck, and not a plane the agenancy would not be investigating. The police department of Battle Creek which is investigating the crash confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook, but had no more information.
Link to article: Man Dies After Truck Propelled by Jet Engines Crashes at Michigan Air Show – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The racing truck, which is custom-built, was equipped with three jet engines and had 36,000 horsepower altogether crashed in the pyrotechnic part of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival which is hosted in Battle Creek Mich.
The videos taken by bystanders mainly showed a truck racing down a runway at the Battle Creek Executive Airport at Kellogg Field chasing the two planes, with fire blasting out of the back.
A large black and orange ball of fire is visible in the front of the video, as the vehicle which is called a Shockwave Jet Truck vanishes behind it and rolls out, tumbles along the runway and gasps of horror can be heard as the truck shatters into pieces.
The planes that were in the crash were a Zivko Edge 540 flown by Bill Stein and MXS-RH flown by Rob Holland, Ryan Traver said. Travers, a member of the festival board added that none of the pilots of the airplanes had been injured.
A member of the Federal Aviation Administration said that because the crash included a truck, and not a plane the agenancy would not be investigating. The police department of Battle Creek which is investigating the crash confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook, but had no more information.
Link to article: Man Dies After Truck Propelled by Jet Engines Crashes at Michigan Air Show – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
