VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. — UPDATE: The two airmen killed in the aircraft mishap have been identified as Lt Col John "Matt" Kincade, an instructor pilot, and 2nd Lt Travis B. Wilkie, according to officials with Vance Air Force Base.
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Two Air Force T-38 Talons were involved in a deadly mishap that occurred Thursday morning, according to a press release.
Officials say when the accident happened, the aircraft were in the landing phase of a training mission.
Officials say two people were on board each of the T-38 Talons.
One of the aircraft somehow became upside down.
Base officials say they are a tight-knit group that must come together and heal.
“This doesn’t happen often," said Col. Corey Simmons, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing. "There’s no text book on how to handle this. So we’ll do our best to be fantastic human beings and good airmen who will put our arms around our other airmen.”
Another T-38 aircraft crashed in August 2018. The pilot was able to eject safely. Despite these two mishaps, Simmons says their safety record is exemplary.
“Before August, it was 2000 before the last Class A type mishap happened at Vance Air Force Base," he said. "So our safety record in the Air Force in general is about as, I would stand by it, but no ma’am, they do not happen very often.”
Two T-38 aircraft were performing a formation training mission when the incident occurred during the landing phase.
Officials say the investigation into what happened could take 30 to 60 days.
According to Vance Air Force Base's Facebook page, two airmen were killed in the aircraft mishap.
The two airmen were identified as Lt Col John "Matt" Kincade, Instructor Pilot, and 2nd Lt Travis B. Wilkie.
Officials say Vance emergency personnel are on the scene to treat casualties and assist in recovery efforts.
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