Crash severely damages Sport-Jet

The sole Sport-Jet prototype crashed while taking off from the Colorado Springs Airport on June 22. Company president Bob Bornhofen told AIN that the very light jet single was substantially damaged, though pilot James Stewart and occupant John Welty suffered only minor injuries. According to a Colorado newspaper, witnesses said the four-seat, Williams FJ33-powered jet reached an altitude of less than 200 feet, rolled to the left and lost altitude before a wing struck the runway. The airplane came to rest in a field about 75 yards from the runway.