Truck driver Chris Darnell died after his truck – which was equipped with three jet engines – crashed while racing two airplanes at Saturday’s air show in Battle Creek, Michigan.
The race truck, built just for the show, crashed during the pyrotechnic portion of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, about 50 miles southwest of Lansing.
According to Barbara Haluszka, the executive director of the festival, Mr. Darnell, the truck driver and a member of a family that had been a part of the air show business for many years, was killed in the accident.
“Chris had a crash, and the jet truck flipped over, and, unfortunately, he did not live,” [Ms. Haluszka] said in a phone interview on Saturday night, according to the New York Times. “All other details are 100 percent under investigation.”
In a statement, Neal Darnell, Mr. Darnell’s father, said the accident was caused by “mechanical failure on the Jet Truck.”
As seen in videos from bystanders, the truck was speeding down a runway, following the two airplanes with flames shooting out its back. Enthusiastically, the announcer declares, “He is coming fast! He is coming really fast!”
In the videos, the vehicle – called a Shockwave Jet Truck – can be seen disappearing behind a massive, thick orange-and-black fireball. The vehicle can also be seen tumbling after appearing on the other side. As the truck shatters into pieces on the racetrack, gasps can be heard from within the shocked crowd.
According to Ryan Traver, a festival board member, the airplanes (which were piloted by Bill Stein and Rob Holland) were a Zivko Edge 540 and a MXS-RH. He also added that the pilots of the civilian aircraft weren’t injured.
According to Ms. Haluszka, Mr. Darnell did not drive through the fireball and it was all just pyrotechnics. “The pyro is on the grass,” she said. “The jet truck is running on the runway. From the crowd’s side, it looks like he’s driving straight through the pyro. But he’s not.”
Since the accident was with a truck, not an airplane, the Federal Aviation Administration is not investigating. Although the agency isn’t inspecting the situation further, the Battle Creek Police Department are. They confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook, but have found no additional information regarding the crash.
The Jet Truck was owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises. As described by the website worldnewsera.com, the truck was said to have been able to achieve speeds topping 350 m.p.h. and was labeled as “the most powerful truck in the world,” with three engines providing 21,000 pounds of thrust.
According to the website, “This is truly an assault of all your senses with huge flames coming out of the 3 after-burning jet engines, fire shooting out of the smoke stacks, intense heat, deafening noise, and SPEED!”
According to Mr. Traver, Mr. Darnell’s act incorporated pyrotechnics, but Traver did not know if [pyrotechnics] had anything to do with the crash. Interestingly, several years ago, while wearing a fire-retardant suit, Mr. Traver rode in the Shockwave Jet Truck, a ride he called “a heckuva experience.”
“It’s just unreal to be in a vehicle with a jet engine and to be propelled from zero to 300 that quickly,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a car at a racetrack, where you’re slowly getting up to top speed. It’s zero to top speed.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/us/jet-truck-explosion-michigan-air-show.html
https://worldnewsera.com/news/us-news/man-dies-after-truck-propelled-by-jet-engines-crashes-at-michigan-air-show/
The race truck, built just for the show, crashed during the pyrotechnic portion of the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, about 50 miles southwest of Lansing.
According to Barbara Haluszka, the executive director of the festival, Mr. Darnell, the truck driver and a member of a family that had been a part of the air show business for many years, was killed in the accident.
“Chris had a crash, and the jet truck flipped over, and, unfortunately, he did not live,” [Ms. Haluszka] said in a phone interview on Saturday night, according to the New York Times. “All other details are 100 percent under investigation.”
In a statement, Neal Darnell, Mr. Darnell’s father, said the accident was caused by “mechanical failure on the Jet Truck.”
As seen in videos from bystanders, the truck was speeding down a runway, following the two airplanes with flames shooting out its back. Enthusiastically, the announcer declares, “He is coming fast! He is coming really fast!”
In the videos, the vehicle – called a Shockwave Jet Truck – can be seen disappearing behind a massive, thick orange-and-black fireball. The vehicle can also be seen tumbling after appearing on the other side. As the truck shatters into pieces on the racetrack, gasps can be heard from within the shocked crowd.
According to Ryan Traver, a festival board member, the airplanes (which were piloted by Bill Stein and Rob Holland) were a Zivko Edge 540 and a MXS-RH. He also added that the pilots of the civilian aircraft weren’t injured.
According to Ms. Haluszka, Mr. Darnell did not drive through the fireball and it was all just pyrotechnics. “The pyro is on the grass,” she said. “The jet truck is running on the runway. From the crowd’s side, it looks like he’s driving straight through the pyro. But he’s not.”
Since the accident was with a truck, not an airplane, the Federal Aviation Administration is not investigating. Although the agency isn’t inspecting the situation further, the Battle Creek Police Department are. They confirmed the death of Mr. Darnell on Facebook, but have found no additional information regarding the crash.
The Jet Truck was owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises. As described by the website worldnewsera.com, the truck was said to have been able to achieve speeds topping 350 m.p.h. and was labeled as “the most powerful truck in the world,” with three engines providing 21,000 pounds of thrust.
According to the website, “This is truly an assault of all your senses with huge flames coming out of the 3 after-burning jet engines, fire shooting out of the smoke stacks, intense heat, deafening noise, and SPEED!”
According to Mr. Traver, Mr. Darnell’s act incorporated pyrotechnics, but Traver did not know if [pyrotechnics] had anything to do with the crash. Interestingly, several years ago, while wearing a fire-retardant suit, Mr. Traver rode in the Shockwave Jet Truck, a ride he called “a heckuva experience.”
“It’s just unreal to be in a vehicle with a jet engine and to be propelled from zero to 300 that quickly,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a car at a racetrack, where you’re slowly getting up to top speed. It’s zero to top speed.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/us/jet-truck-explosion-michigan-air-show.html
https://worldnewsera.com/news/us-news/man-dies-after-truck-propelled-by-jet-engines-crashes-at-michigan-air-show/
