A plane was forced into an emergency landing after catching fire at an air show in Laredo, Texas, on Sunday.
The pilot was left in critical condition and is now under observation in San Antonio, according to local media reports.
Why It Matters
The cause of the blaze is currently under investigation.
What To Know
The aircraft was part of the WBCA Stars & Stripes Air Show Spectacular at Laredo International Airport.
Its engine reportedly caught fire while in the air, just before 1:00 p.m.
The pilot, a man in his 70s, managed to land the plane on the ground, where the blaze was put out, before he was taken to Laredo Medical Center in critical condition.
It is unknown whether anyone else was in the plane—no other injuries have been reported.
An aircraft makes emergency landing and catches fire at air show in Laredo in southern Texas.
The A-20 was forced to make an emergency landing due to a mechanical failure during the WBCA Star & Stripes Air Show.
Once on the ground, the aircraft caught fire, causing alarm among… pic.twitter.com/ICn1IiipfH
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) February 16, 2025
Laredo Fire Department said Bartlett Avenue and Jacaman Road, near the airport, were closed briefly after the incident, to allow access for emergency vehicles. The airshow was able to resume at 1:30 p.m.
What People Are Saying
Laredo Fire Department spokesperson Hernan Martinez told The Laredo Morning Times: “The plane did have mechanical issues in the air and had to do an emergency landing. The pilot did suffer injuries, facial and head, and he is going to be flown out to San Antonio by air. We have all units standing by for the protection of the pilots, and he will be taken to the hospital for further evaluation.”
What Happens Next
The Federal Aviation Administration is leading the investigation into what happened, with the National Transportation Safety Board assisting.
Georgia Plane Crash
The news follows two people dying after a plane crashed following take off from a municipal airport in Georgia, around 30 miles east of Atlanta.
The Covington Police Department said that a single-engine aircraft had taken off from the Covington Municipal Airport at approximately 11:21 p.m. on Saturday.
The airport lost communication with the aircraft around 20 minutes later. Officers then located the crashed plane in the woods near the runway.
Two people in the plane were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration previously told Newsweek it hopes to post a preliminary accident/incident report in the next day or so. The identities of the victims of the crash are still to be confirmed.
There have been increased concerns and fears over flight safety in the wake of a number of aviation disasters across the country in recent weeks. These include the tragedy when a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk military helicopter, killing 67 people onboard both aircraft.
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