HILLSBORO, Ore. A 1951 vintage Hawker Hunter British fighter jet crashed into a densely populated neighborhood near the Hillsboro Airport during an air show Sunday afternoon, exploding, destroying a home and killing the pilot.
Fire officials said no residents or others on the ground were hurt.
Connie King, a spokeswoman for the Hillsboro Fire Department, said the pilot died. The pilot's name was not immediately released. She said the jet was taking off to return to California when it went down.
The jet slammed into a house at 4:28 p.m. and destroyed it,thankfully no one was home at the time.
King said another house sustained significant damage. people were in the other home, but none was hurt.
The attic exterior of another house was damaged, and there was fire damage in the yard of another, she said.
A 33-year-old Hillsboro firefighter was taken to St. Vincent Hospital where he was listed in good condition.
TV footage showed the ruins of the destroyed home.
Dave Driscoll, who lives in the area, said he heard a whistling sound of the jet and it cut out, cut out, cut out, then there was a big boom.
The crash occurred toward the end of the two-day Hillsboro International Air Show, about a mile and a half from the airport.
It was doing a loop and couldn't pull out in time, Kory Hauser, a witness, told the (Salem) Statesman Journal. It clipped about three houses and went down.
The show was immediately canceled and Hauser said the streets in that section of Hillsboro were in gridlock.
Another witness, Josh Boer, said a house literally exploded when the aircraft hit and sent out a fireball that ignited two other homes.
Witness Mo Swasey told KATU television that the plane had a flameout at 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet.
The pilot tried to bank left to attempt an emergency landing but that there was no power and the aircraft dropped quickly, he said.
TV stations said the pilot of the aircraft is an attorney from California.
Hillsboro is a Portland suburb.
Since retiring the Hawker Hunter from military service many of these aircraft have been snapped up by collectors of jet aircraft,there have been accidents in the past where the aircraft have flamed out due to failure of the aircrafts fuel pump system,however at this stage it is not inown what caused this particular accident.
Fire officials said no residents or others on the ground were hurt.
Connie King, a spokeswoman for the Hillsboro Fire Department, said the pilot died. The pilot's name was not immediately released. She said the jet was taking off to return to California when it went down.
The jet slammed into a house at 4:28 p.m. and destroyed it,thankfully no one was home at the time.
King said another house sustained significant damage. people were in the other home, but none was hurt.
The attic exterior of another house was damaged, and there was fire damage in the yard of another, she said.
A 33-year-old Hillsboro firefighter was taken to St. Vincent Hospital where he was listed in good condition.
TV footage showed the ruins of the destroyed home.
Dave Driscoll, who lives in the area, said he heard a whistling sound of the jet and it cut out, cut out, cut out, then there was a big boom.
The crash occurred toward the end of the two-day Hillsboro International Air Show, about a mile and a half from the airport.
It was doing a loop and couldn't pull out in time, Kory Hauser, a witness, told the (Salem) Statesman Journal. It clipped about three houses and went down.
The show was immediately canceled and Hauser said the streets in that section of Hillsboro were in gridlock.
Another witness, Josh Boer, said a house literally exploded when the aircraft hit and sent out a fireball that ignited two other homes.
Witness Mo Swasey told KATU television that the plane had a flameout at 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet.
The pilot tried to bank left to attempt an emergency landing but that there was no power and the aircraft dropped quickly, he said.
TV stations said the pilot of the aircraft is an attorney from California.
Hillsboro is a Portland suburb.
Since retiring the Hawker Hunter from military service many of these aircraft have been snapped up by collectors of jet aircraft,there have been accidents in the past where the aircraft have flamed out due to failure of the aircrafts fuel pump system,however at this stage it is not inown what caused this particular accident.