T-33 crash at Trenton

A flight safety investigation is pending after a privately-owned former military jet appeared to abort takeoff before crashing through a fence at CFb Trenton on Wednesday 15 July.

Capt. Mark Peebles, the base’s senior public affairs officer, said the T-33 had problems on takeoff at 12:12 p.m.

“It got airborne but then it returned to the surface and sped right off the end of the runway,” Peebles said.

“It went through a fence; it went over Perimeter Road; and it came to rest just inside the outer fence of the airfield by RCAF Road.”

The plane came to rest on its belly, one wingtip almost touching the fence.

Emergency crews arrived within three minutes and helped the pilot — the lone occupant — into a military ambulance, Peebles said.

Quinte West Fire Chief John Whelan, who was already in the neighbourhood, said he reached the base about five minutes after the landing.

At that point the pilot, wearing a flight suit, was sitting in a ditch about 500 metres from the plane, he said. By the time Whelan reached the actual landing site, he said, the pilot could be seen talking inside the ambulance.

In an early-evening new release, Peebles said the pilot has been released from Trenton Memorial Hospital. The nature of his injuries was not disclosed.

Military police secured the scene and firefighters sprayed fire-retardant foam as a precautionary measure.

“There is damage to the aircraft, however the extent of the damage and the nature of the damage I don’t know,” said Peebles.

The Canadair T-33 is the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star Trainers for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The powerplant would be a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed in the production of the original T-33. A project designation of CL-30 was given by Canadair and the name was changed to Silver Star. The appearance of the T-33 is very distinctive due to the large fuel tanks usually carried on each wingtip.

A total of 656 T-33 aircraft were built by Canadair.

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Storm the beach

The men and women of the Canadian Advanced Land Warfare Center (we don't call them airborne anymore) storm the beach while I'm getting read to go sailing.

 

 

And we're ready to shoot back...

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