T-34 Turbomentor Mishap Pilot Identified

NAVAL AIR STATION WHITING FIELD, Fla. (NNS) -- One pilot is recovering and one is presumed dead following a training flight that crashed into Lake Ponchartrain, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. The two pilots were attached to Training Squadron 6 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field.

Lt. Clinton Wermers and the student pilot were flying a routine nighttime instrument training mission and were approaching Lakefront Airport in New Orleans when their plane went down in the lake. Coast Guard teams rescued the student pilot from the water near 9 p.m. Jan. 23, with mild hypothermia and moderate injuries. Wermers, the instructor pilot, has not been located and Coast Guard rescue efforts have transitioned to a recovery operation. The rescued pilot was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for his injuries. He has since been released.

The cause of the mishap is unknown. An investigation by Training Air Wing 5 and the Naval Safety Center has been initiated.

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