F-104 Performer, Lost in Hawker Hunter
This private T-MK 7 Hunter went down in Pittston Township
shortly after taking off from the airport at about 9AM, said FAA
spokesman Jim Peters. No one on the ground was hurt.
Delashaw (shown, right, in his
Starfighter) was pulled from the wreck by construction workers in
the area, who rushed to give aid; Tom was dead at the scene,
according to local reports. The ejection seat and a partially-open
'chute were reported nearby.
The plane had been undergoing a lot of maintenance, for several
months, according to a local report; the maintenance crew was
identified as Canadian. The flight, a Bonnie Adams/Lane Filler
report in the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader said,
had been delayed several times.
Witnesses told the reporters that they had seen on Monday what
looked like at least one aborted takeoff. Tuesday, the plane took
off, but it just failed to gain altitude. It crashed about two
miles off the end of the Wilkes-Barre airport, after missing a tank
farm, homes, and power lines.
Delashaw was a Viet Nam combat pilot, and was well-known as
part of "The World's Fastest Airshow Team," astounding -- and
deafening -- crowds in his F-104 Starfighter. He had last performed
in Michigan, over the July 4 weekend.
The 1957 aircraft was, according to one enthusiasts' registry in
a 2001 entry, "regularly flown." The FAA registration site says it
was exported to Canada, date effective July 11, 2003...
** Report created 7/23/2003 Record
4 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 614XL
Make/Model: HAWK Description:
HUNTER
Date: 07/22/2003 Time: 1259
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: DUPONT State: PA Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT DEPARTED RUNWAY 22 AND CRASHED 1/4 MILE OFF THE
DEPARTURE END OF THE
RUNWAY UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY
INJURED, ACFT WAS DESTROYED, WILKES-BARRE AIRPORT,
DUPONT, PA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal:
1
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: VFR 100 BKN 10 TEMP 20C DEWPOINT 18
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase:
Take-off Operation: General
Aviation
Departed: WILKES-BARRE,
PA
Dep Date: 07/22/2003 Dep. Time: 1258
Destination: BURLINGTON,
VT Flt
Plan: VFR Wx
Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont: CGLUM PA31 NOTIFD EMGENCY
Last Clearance: CLRD FOR TAKEOFF
FAA FSDO: ALLENTOWN, PA
(EA05)
Entry date: 07/23/2003