Vintage warplane crashes in Minnesota; pilot survives

Published 8:35 pm Thursday, August 23, 2018

BLAINE — A vintage warplane has crashed at a Minnesota airport, but the pilot survived.

It happened as the plane was approaching the Anoka County Airport in the Minneapolis suburb of Blaine just after 11 a.m. Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany said the pilot suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover. He was taken to a hospital.

The pilot’s name was not immediately released, but Podany said he’s a 65-year-old from Ham Lake with more than 20 years of experience.

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Podany said two passers-by jumped the fence to aid the pilot.

Fire Chief Charles Smith said firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

The plane was a Korean War-era T-28B Trojan built in 1955, with U.S. Air Force markings. It went down and burned near the end of a runway.

The cause is under investigation.