One Was Well-Known Air Racer Alfred Goss

An AT-6F Texan has gone down in a remote area near Highway 58 outside Bakersfield, CA, killing two people.

T6 Texan File Photo

Bakersfield Television Stations KBAK and KBFX report that the Kern County Fire Department says the airplane broke up and caught fire after the accident.  FAA records show the aircraft as being registered to Alfred Goss of Bakersfield. Friends of Goss confirmed to Bakersfield.com that he was one of the people killed in the accident. The other person has not been identified.

Goss was a former National Air Race champion flying in the T-6 class and was well-known in air-racing circles. Friends said he was a member of the Warlock Team, a team of World War II pilots who flew out of Minter Field in Shafter, CA.

The area where the plane went down is an agricultural region of South Central California. The TV station's website shows only the tail section of the aircraft in a partially water-filled ditch, with other debris including the engine and propeller scattered in a field.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov