It is already the most bizarre story of the year in the horticultural sector. A fighter jet pilot crashed into the greenhouse of the Vink family in Friesland. The fighter jet landed next to the company. The pilot is in hospital with cuts and a broken ankle, but is doing well considering the circumstances.
The Swiss fighter jet was in the area for the Air Force Open Days. The plane collided with another fighter jet in the air and could not fly further. Just before crashing, the pilot used his ejector seat. He landed in the greenhouse of the Vink family, a bell pepper farm of 11 hectares. Jaap Vink, the shocked grower, says it is a miracle more men were not wounded. “We were harvesting in precisely that corner with 25 men when we heard a loud explosion. It was the fighter jet, the pilot just managed to steer into the pond next to the greenhouse. The plane crashed into the pond 40 metres from the wall of the greenhouse. Shortly after that we were startled by the pilot, and the separate ejector seat, who came through the greenhouse roof not far from the harvesters.”
Inconceivable film scenario
Vink talks about a scenario you would not even see in a film. The bell pepper grower is happy the pilot managed to keep the plane under control until the last moment. “He really tried very hard to land in the pond. It was also only 60 metres from our home, my daughter saw the plane crash, and the large fireball afterwards. We all had the wind knocked out of our sails. We were very close to not being able to tell the tale.”
The pilot is doing well considering the circumstances. He went straight through the roof. “The shield was down at that moment, because of the sun, he went through that as well. Besides the wounds from the glass, he also broke his ankle in the fall.”
Despite the fact that work has resumed again on the farm, there are many from the police and armed forces present. “The place has been fenced off, and I think we currently have better protection than the king.”
Not the first time
Although the incident in Friesland might sound like an inconceivable film scenario, it is not the first time a fighter jet pilot has landed in a greenhouse. On 13 September 1962, the British fighter jet pilot George Aird also had trouble during a demonstration. His plane also landed several metres from an English greenhouse in Hatfield.
From the archives: George Aird’s crash in 1962
As for the pilot? He landed in the greenhouse as well, amongst the tomatoes that time. After he recovered from his wounds, including two broken legs, the pilot was back in a plane within six months. Let us hope the Swiss pilot will be back in the cockpit just as quickly.