The accident occurred round 1:10 p.m. “through the pyrotechnic portion” of the present on the Battle Creek Area of Flight Air Present and Balloon Competition, police mentioned earlier.
Video shot by air present attendee Mike Westra confirmed the truck racing two planes, dashing down the runway earlier than spinning and crashing. One other video reveals a parachute deploying behind the truck proper earlier than the crash.
A thick plume of black smoke and fireplace seen within the movies had been a part of the present’s pyrotechnic show and never associated to the accident, Westra informed CNN. Within the movies, the smoke and fireplace are seen earlier than the truck loses management.
Emergency responders had been on the airport on standby and shortly responded, Westra mentioned. “Inside a minute or two they had been placing water on the hearth,” Westra added.
Westra noticed the charred wreckage as soon as the hearth was put out, he mentioned, telling CNN, “It got here to relaxation the wrong way up.”
The accident is beneath investigation by the police division and the Battle Creek Fireplace Division, police mentioned.
The rest of the air present Saturday was canceled following the crash, in keeping with a submit on the competition’s Fb web page.
“We’re so unhappy,” Neal Darnell wrote. “Only one month in the past Chris turned 40. He was so properly liked by everybody who knew him. Chris so liked the Air Present enterprise.”
