A U.S. Air Power T-38 Talon jet coach assigned to Columbus Air Power Base has crashed in Alabama, with each pilots ejecting safely.
A U.S. Air Power T-38C Talon jet coach has crashed in west Alabama for unknown causes on Might 12, 2026. The plane was assigned to the 14th Flying Coaching Wing at Columbus Air Power Base, Mississippi.
The unit launched an official assertion, saying that each pilots have been capable of eject safely earlier than the crash. A video recorded purportedly exhibits the 2 parachutes descending towards the bottom.
Based on Stars and Stripes, the plane crashed in rural Lamar County, Alabama, close to the Mississippi border. The service additionally confirmed that the incident occurred at roughly 12:00 pm native time.
NEW VIDEO of what seems to be the two airmen who parachuted out of a T-38 coaching plane over Fayette County, AL this afternoon.Video courtesy: Mary Hancock pic.twitter.com/ELqiANhNoi
— Jonathan Hardison (@WBRC6Hardison) Might 12, 2026
The causes of the crash are presently unknown, and the Air Power mentioned will probably be investigated by a Security Investigation Board. It’s unclear if the pilots declared an emergency earlier than the crash.
Background
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twin-engine, supersonic superior jet coaching plane utilized by the U.S. Air Power and a number of other different forces. The plane first flew in 1959 and was the first-ever supersonic coach plane.
The Talon is used within the superior phases of pilot coaching. In truth, following the T-6 section, scholar pilots enter specialised track-specific coaching, relying on the kind plane they’ve been chosen to fly, with the T-38 getting used for these certain for fighter and bomber plane.
Though questions in regards to the security of the getting old T-38 Talon fleet have surfaced within the wake of accidents, the plane has continued to function a sophisticated jet coach. The T-38 is nearing retirement from energetic USAF coach service and might be changed by the brand new T-7A Redhawk superior jet coach constructed by Boeing.
Columbus Air Power Base is residence to the USAF’s Flying Coaching Wing, which oversees the 52-week Specialised Undergraduate Pilot Coaching (SUPT) mission. The forty ninth Fighter Coaching Squadron, the “Black Knights,” and the fiftieth Flying Coaching Squadron, the “Strikin’ Snakes,” have been assigned the T-38C Talon superior jet coach, with the latter deactivated final yr.
Different squadrons inside the 14th Operations Group – the thirty seventh and forty first – function the T-6A Texan II as a part of the Air Power’s undergraduate pilot coaching pipeline. The bottom beforehand operated the T-1A Jayhawk, which was retired from Columbus AFB in 2026.
