On Tuesday, a man died during the pyrotechnic portion of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival in Batte Creek, Michigan.
Chris Darnell died when he crashed during the pyrotechnic portion of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival in Batte Creek, Mich., about 50 miles southwest of Lansing. Darnell, a family member who had been part of the air show business for years, died from crashing a truck reinforced with three jet engines. The vehicle could hit a top speed of 36,000mph.
“Chris had a crash, and the jet truck flipped over, and, unfortunately, he did not live,” Haluszka said in a phone interview on Saturday night. All other details are under investigation.
According to Mr. Darnell’s father, Neal Darnell, the accident was “a result of mechanical failure on the Jet Truck.”
“Chris so loved the Air Show business,” he stated. “He was ‘living the Dream,’ as he said.”
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said that because the accident involved a truck, not an airplane, the agency was not investigating. The Battle Creek Police Department confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook; he was 40.
Mr. Traver – a reporter rode in the Shockwave (the truck), a ride that he calls “a heckuva experience.”
“It’s just unreal to be in a vehicle with a jet engine and propelled from zero to 300 that quickly,” he said. “It’s not like a car at a racetrack, where you’re slowly getting up to top speed. It’s zero to top speed.”
Chris Darnell died when he crashed during the pyrotechnic portion of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival in Batte Creek, Mich., about 50 miles southwest of Lansing. Darnell, a family member who had been part of the air show business for years, died from crashing a truck reinforced with three jet engines. The vehicle could hit a top speed of 36,000mph.
“Chris had a crash, and the jet truck flipped over, and, unfortunately, he did not live,” Haluszka said in a phone interview on Saturday night. All other details are under investigation.
According to Mr. Darnell’s father, Neal Darnell, the accident was “a result of mechanical failure on the Jet Truck.”
“Chris so loved the Air Show business,” he stated. “He was ‘living the Dream,’ as he said.”
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said that because the accident involved a truck, not an airplane, the agency was not investigating. The Battle Creek Police Department confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook; he was 40.
Mr. Traver – a reporter rode in the Shockwave (the truck), a ride that he calls “a heckuva experience.”
“It’s just unreal to be in a vehicle with a jet engine and propelled from zero to 300 that quickly,” he said. “It’s not like a car at a racetrack, where you’re slowly getting up to top speed. It’s zero to top speed.”
