AIRCRAFT DOWN — The pilot and passenger of a 1992 Aero Vodochody L-139 were taken to the hospital after the aircraft crashed into a field in the 1900 block of U.S. 380 near the Bridgeport Municipal Airport Wednesday evening. Austin Jackson/WCMessenger
Two people were transported to area hospitals after a jet-trainer aircraft crashed through an unoccupied building near the Bridgeport Municipal Airport Wednesday night.
The aircraft, a 1992 Aero Vodochody L-139, took off from Perot Field/Fort Worth Alliance and was headed to the Bridgeport Municipal Airport. It crashed at around 6:45 p.m. in a field near the airport in the 1900 block of U.S. 380, said DPS Sgt. Josue “Tony” De La Cerda.
According to the flight tracking system Flight Aware, the aircraft took off from the airport in Fort Worth at 6:21 p.m. and then flew west to Bridgeport at the an altitude of 3,500 feet at 260 miles per hour.
As it neared Bridgeport, data shows the aircraft gaining altitude to 3,800 feet before descending to 1,300 feet as it neared the airport. As the aircraft approached the runway, it accelerated and gained altitude, speeding up from 140 mph to 284 mph, reaching 4,000 feet as it circled out from the airport. The data then shows a final descent that ended north of the airport.
The pilot, Dianna Stanger, 62, of Washington, Texas, sustained critical injuries. Stanger was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. The passenger, Thomas Charles, 58, of Niceville, Fla. sustained serious injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to Medical City-Denton.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash, De La Cerda said.
Stanger is an accomplished pilot and owner of the air racing team, Darkstar. According to the team’s website, her career as a pilot began in 1994.
The aircraft registration shows the plane was owned by Veruca Salt LLC.
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