Canopy Flies off Jet Aircraft During Fairhope Air Show
The canopy over the cockpit of a jet aircraft flew off while in flight during the Classic Jet Aircraft Association air show Saturday in Fairhope, according to the local photographer who caught the incident on camera.
The show began Thursday, with classic aircraft taking to the skies on Friday. About 10 a.m. Saturday, a Russian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 took off from the Fairhope Airport. Shortly after liftoff, the canopy broke away from the Korean War-era aircraft, according to local photographer Montie Mann.
“I wasn’t sure what was happening at first,” Mann said of his reaction when he saw the canopy through his lens. “It all happened so quickly. When I looked up, I saw the canopy falling to the ground.
“I was pretty surprised since it’s something you definitely don’t expect to happen.”
The canopy hit the ground away from spectators and participants, there were no injuries, and the pilot safely landed the plane. The airshow was suspended until the debris was cleared and flights resumed later Saturday afternoon.
“I was glad it was just the canopy and that the pilot was okay,” Mann added.
The MiG-15 was introduced in 1949. More than 13,000 were built and the planes were used extensively in the Korean War.
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