By Kelly Smit, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) –
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — A vintage Russian jet was destroyed after crashing Thursday morning in Minnesota as it attempted to land for a weekend air show.
The pilot, who hasn’t been identified, was landing his 1975 MiG-21 at 10 a.m. CDT at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, Minn., for this weekend’s Wings of the North AirExpo.
(PHOTO: The crashed Russian MiG is photographed and inspected by authorities along Flying Cloud Road near Pioneer Trail, Thursday, July 12, 2012, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.)
Officials said the jet’s parachute, which helps slow the aircraft, was deployed, but appeared to collapse and detach, causing the plane to overshoot the runway.
The nose of the plane came to a rest in a roadside ditch on Flying Cloud Drive near the intersection of Pioneer Trail. No fire started, but the plane was heavily damaged.
“I don’t think it will be usable ever (again),” police spokeswoman Katie Beal said after talking to a mechanic at the scene. “I think it will just be for parts from here on out.”
The pilot was the only one on board the plane and suffered minor injuries, but was treated at the scene.
While an official cause of the crash won’t be released by officials with the Federal Aviation Administration for weeks, Beal said the detached parachute is likely the reason for the crash.
The AirExpo activities will go on as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.
