"It was surreal. It was almost like a NASCAR crash. You could
see dirt flying."
Source: Rob Shapard, a reporter for the Raleigh
Herald-Sun, who was on a flight that hadn't yet pushed from the
gate when a Navy F/A-18 Hornet erupted in flames on a take-off roll
and the pilot ejected. He spoke by phone from the Delta flight. The
pilot of the Hornet, Lt. Wesley Baumgartner, ejected from the
burning Hornet, sustaining minor injuries in the process.