UPDATE: 6:58PM CT: A press conference was held this afternoon regarding the crash. Both occupants of the two-ship F-16D are in good condition. See recap of today’s events here.
UPDATE 12:34PM CT: Here is live footage of the incident provided by WHIO.
12:20PM CT
The Dayton Daily News is reporting that a Thunderbirds aircraft ‘crashed’ today at Dayton International Airport. However, if you read their latest reporting, it sounds as if the jet landed and then was flipped over by a gust of wind. There is no word yet on injuries. Here is their latest tweet.
#BREAKING: 2 people reportedly involved in #DaytonAirShow Thunderbird Crash https://t.co/Hq3c30Xf0R pic.twitter.com/IcuvLGFCWR
— Dayton Daily News (@daytondailynews) June 23, 2017
Without speculating, here’s what we know:
1.) The weather at the time of the incident was as follows…
KDAY 231707Z 26006KT 3/4SM R06L/2400VP6000FT +RA BR BKN028 BKN043 OVC050 19/19 A2977 RMK AO2 CIG 023 RWY 6L P0007 T01940189 $
While the winds are reported to be light, the field has been reporting heavy rain with low visibility. A significant cold front has converged with moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy to produce heavy rain, thunderstorms, and wind in the region.
2.) The Thunderbirds practice for the Dayton Airshow was called off today due to weather but the two-seater F-16D did take off for a media flight. There were two occupants in the F-16–one pilot and one media guest.
We’ll keep updating this story as we learn more.
