Pilot Killed In Jet Warbird Crash

The pilot of de Havilland Venom jet warbird was killed, two people on the ground were injured and about 50 calves had to be euthanized when the aircraft crashed into a calving barn on a dairy farm near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Friday. The aircraft, owned by the World Heritage Air Museum in Detroit, was one of dozens of warbirds taking part in the Great Air Clinic, a gathering of antique aircraft held at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff and came to rest on the farm less than a half mile from the airport. The pilot was killed instantly and has not been identified.

Witnesses said the aircraft was one of two aircraft that took off from the airport as part of the clinic. Hundreds of spectators line the airfield at the clinic each day. The event culminates with a departure for AirVenture Oshkosh, which begins Monday. The clinic also trains pilots to take part in the mass arrival of T-28 Trojans to AirVenture. A total of 865 Venoms were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s and there are a handful left flying. AirVenture lists a Venom as part of the event marking the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force but it hasn't been confirmed that this aircraft was to be in the show.