Two Air Force pilots eject safely from training plane near Seguin, Texas

Pilots bailed out after unsafe landing gear indications, base says

Two U.S. Air Force pilots ejected safely from a T-6A Texan II training aircraft near Seguin, Texas, on Thursday evening, according to a release from Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. The base said both pilots were being evaluated by local medical personnel.

The pilots were flying the small, propeller-driven T-6A Texan II in Central Texas when they decided to conduct a controlled bailout near Seguin, the base statement said. The release did not say what became of the aircraft.

“After receiving unsafe landing gear indications, the pilots consulted with experts, who recommended the crew conduct a controlled bailout,” the base statement said.

The statement described the ejection as the end of a decision process. The pilots received the landing gear indications, consulted experts and acted on the recommendation to conduct a controlled bailout, according to the release.

“Both pilots are currently being evaluated by local medical personnel,” the base statement said. Both pilots were assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, the base near San Antonio.

The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine, two-seater plane used primarily to train U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots, and it is produced by Raytheon Aircraft. The two-seat trainer carried the two pilots who left it near Seguin.

The base’s account did not identify the pilots, describe the condition of the airplane or explain what produced the unsafe landing gear indications. The release also did not say whether the crew attempted to land before ejecting.

The account came from a statement by the base and included no comment from the pilots themselves. For the 12th Flying Training Wing, the episode involved two of its assigned pilots and an aircraft whose condition the base did not describe.

The release documented the sequence that ended Thursday’s bailout — the landing gear indications, the consultation with experts and the experts’ recommendation to eject — but not the underlying problem with the aircraft.