An Air Force fighter jet crashed into a residential area in rural south Georgia on Friday, killing the pilot and a housekeeper as it ignited two homes and hurled fiery debris across a highway.
It was the second time since November that a military jet crashed in Georgia and killed civilians on the ground.Kathleen Guthrie, executive secretary at the Atkinson County sheriff's department, confirmed the deaths but would not identify the victims.
The F-16A "Fighting Falcon" was on a training flight from Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta - about 40 miles away - to Lake George Weapons Range in Florida when it crashed. The pilot was the only occupant, said base spokeswoman Dee Tait.
One house and a mobile home were destroyed when the jet slammed into a row of homes on U.S. 441 north of Pearson shortly after 9:30 a.m., authorities said. At least four other homes, including Curtis and Mary Alice Corbitt's home across the highway, were damaged by debris that flew in all directions.
"I'm going to praise the Lord for protecting me and my wife," said Corbitt, who suffered scrapes and bruises. "When it happened, I said `This is the end.' " Flying debris caused a fire inside the Corbitt house, the family said.
Atkinson County Sheriff Earl Haskins said the largest piece of debris he has seen from the wreckage was part of a wing, which was about the size of a car roof.