Plane Goes Down Near Training Field

It is not yet known what led to the fatal downing of a Navy T-34C "TurboMentor" training aircraft that went down near a Corpus Christi, TX neighborhood Friday. The two pilots onboard -- a trainee pilot and an instructor -- were killed in the accident.

"Its was T-34 training aircraft and was assigned to Training Squadron VT-27 here at NAS Corpus Christi," said base spokesman Jeffrey Fretland to San Antonio's WOAI radio.

No one on the ground was injured by the falling plane, which came down near Waldron Field, a WWII-era airport used by pilots from NAS Corpus Christi for practice.

"I heard this big noise, and I came and looked out the window and there was this big fire across the street from us," one woman told WOAI radio in San Antonio.

Media reports cite Friday's accident was the second involving a T-34 in Corpus Christi in two weeks. Another training plane went down in the same area on January 12. Neither of the two pilots onboard were injured in that accident. It is unclear if that accident also involved a T-34C (file photo, below) which is a PT6-powered variant of the stalwart T-34 trainer.

Officials say there is no clear indication so far as to what may have caused Friday's crash.

FMI: www.navy.mil