Tom Sharkbait Delashaw was killed today when the Hawker Hunter he was flying crahed on take-off. Sharbait was the solo CF104 demonstration pilot flying the ex-RCAF 12850 with the Starfighters Demonstration Team out of Florida. Here is a copy of the news story as I got it today. there is some sort of Canadian connection to the Hunter acording to the news story.
One man died after a plane went down shortly after taking off at the Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport Tuesday.
The plane took off around 9:00 a.m. Witnesses say it went down shortly after.
Newswatch 16 first told you about the crash shortly after it happened. The cause of the crash is not known but we do the final flight lasted only seconds. The old fighter jet, a 1950''s era Hawker Hunter, had been owned by a New Jersey man and had recently been sold. The pilot, a man from Texas, was the only one on board. He was killed. Newswatch 16 has learned he was flying to plane to Canada and its new owner when it crashed not long after taking off from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton airport.
Thick black smoke could be seen for miles rising from the wreckage. The jet crashed in a wooded area about a half mile from the end of the runway. A witness says the jet never got high off the ground. It crashed in some trees, setting off a ball of flame.
"I saw this plane. It sounded kind of funny, kind of low over the treetops. As I looked between two big trees I could see the plane going through big trees, then all of a sudden a big ball of fire," recalled one witness.
"I saw a plane coming down right over the hill there. It came down, it looked like it was going to land, but it hit the pond there and burst into flames," said witness Jeff Scholl. That''s when he and a friend ran down to help. They found the pilot.
"We went down and pulled him out of the cockpit. Lots of fire. Me and another guy, we just grabbed him and got him away from the flames. I don''t think he made it, though," recounted Scholl.
The plant crashed near the Vogelbacher Industrial Park. One worker heard the impact. "I thought something blew up at the plant. It was so loud. I couldn''t believe it. Then we came out here and all the smoke, you could see it on fire," said Star Lostrick.
The crash could have been a lot worse. The jet came down just 500 feet from a fuel storage depot off Suscon Road in Dupont. The crash scene was also near the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 81. Several homes are also in the area.
All that''s left of the two seater jet is some wreckage in the woods. People at Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport say they saw someone working on the jet for the last few days.
One man died after a plane went down shortly after taking off at the Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport Tuesday.
The plane took off around 9:00 a.m. Witnesses say it went down shortly after.
Newswatch 16 first told you about the crash shortly after it happened. The cause of the crash is not known but we do the final flight lasted only seconds. The old fighter jet, a 1950''s era Hawker Hunter, had been owned by a New Jersey man and had recently been sold. The pilot, a man from Texas, was the only one on board. He was killed. Newswatch 16 has learned he was flying to plane to Canada and its new owner when it crashed not long after taking off from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton airport.
Thick black smoke could be seen for miles rising from the wreckage. The jet crashed in a wooded area about a half mile from the end of the runway. A witness says the jet never got high off the ground. It crashed in some trees, setting off a ball of flame.
"I saw this plane. It sounded kind of funny, kind of low over the treetops. As I looked between two big trees I could see the plane going through big trees, then all of a sudden a big ball of fire," recalled one witness.
"I saw a plane coming down right over the hill there. It came down, it looked like it was going to land, but it hit the pond there and burst into flames," said witness Jeff Scholl. That''s when he and a friend ran down to help. They found the pilot.
"We went down and pulled him out of the cockpit. Lots of fire. Me and another guy, we just grabbed him and got him away from the flames. I don''t think he made it, though," recounted Scholl.
The plant crashed near the Vogelbacher Industrial Park. One worker heard the impact. "I thought something blew up at the plant. It was so loud. I couldn''t believe it. Then we came out here and all the smoke, you could see it on fire," said Star Lostrick.
The crash could have been a lot worse. The jet came down just 500 feet from a fuel storage depot off Suscon Road in Dupont. The crash scene was also near the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 81. Several homes are also in the area.
All that''s left of the two seater jet is some wreckage in the woods. People at Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport say they saw someone working on the jet for the last few days.
