A military aircraft crashed in a field south of the Albuquerque International Sunport Tuesday afternoon just after take off.
The pilot — the only person on board — was seriously injured and has been taken to the hospital, said Lt. Jason Fejer with Albuquerque Fire Rescue. He said the aircraft had taken off from the Sunport.
Fejer said around 2 p.m. AFR started getting reports of a “possible aircraft down” — the code for which they don’t see very often. He said Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue was the first on scene to start looking for the pilot and start fire suppression efforts. Kirtland Air Force Base also responded with three airport crash rescue trucks.
“The pilot was able to get out,” Fejer said. “The pilot was transported (to the hospital) with serious injuries.”
He said there were two civilians on scene who were evaluated but neither had to be taken to the hospital.
UPDATE FROM @abqfire. Please avoid the area of Rio Bravo & University. pic.twitter.com/qJ92Q17e5G
— ABQ Sunport (@ABQSunport) May 28, 2024
Diana Lopez, a spokesperson for the Sunport, said the airport is coordinating with first responders as well.
“Flight operations have resumed, but check with your airline for flight status,” Lopez said.
No information was immediately available about how the crash occurred.