By Kate Sarsfield in London
Spectrum Aeronautical’s Spectrum 33 very light jet proof-of-concept aircraft crashed yesterday at an airport runway near Spanish Fork, Utah killing both test pilots.
The victims were identified as as Glenn Maben, Spectrum’s director of flight operations and vice director Nathan Forrest.
The aircraft was the sole Spectrum 33 prototype and the cause of the crash is not yet known. Local television station 5 KSL-TV reports (video below) the accident happened at 16:15. Spanish Fork police say jet fuel was spilled on the runway, and photos of the accident scene (pictured below) indicate the aircraft may have rolled as it departed the runway.
The eight-seat Williams FJ33-powered aircraft was unveiled at the US National Business Aviation Association convention last November and made a brief flight from Spanish Fork to nearby Provo airport on 7 January (pictured bottom). US certification was scheduled for 2008.
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Source: Flight International
