No one was seriously injured when a vintage World War II plane crashed Sunday after a West Texas air show. The twin-engine transport caught fire, but the blaze was immediately contained, according to a news release from Tina Corbett, spokeswoman for the Commemorative Air Force. Flights from Midland International Airport were suspended for a short time. The plane, a C-60 Lodestar, received major damage to the tail section and engines when it struck the ground just after takeoff. All five people aboard walked away from the crash. One was treated at the scene for minor abrasions.
The accident occurred after the Fina-CAF AIRSHO 2004 had ended. The plane had flown during the air show on Saturday, but not on Sunday, the CAF said. The C-60, piloted by Stan Peterson, 61, of Boulder, Colo., was departing for Boulder, where it is operated by the Mile High Wing of the CAF.
The damaged aircraft, designed by Lockheed, was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces in October 1943 and reassigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force, where it was used as an executive transport. It was donated to the CAF in 1961. The Midland-based CAF, the former Confederate Air Force, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to flying and restoring World War II aircraft.
Mile High Wing's (hmmmm...) C-60 Lodestar, still in Howard VIP configuration except for WW2 paint. |