
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990                   TAG: 9004180258
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KARLSRUHE, WEST GERMANY                                LENGTH: Short

FIGHTER JET PILOT KILLED IN CRASH OVER GERMAN CITY

Two Canadian fighter jets collided over this southwestern German city during the early evening rush hour Tuesday, killing one of the pilots and showering sections of Karlsruhe with flaming debris, officials said.

The second pilot suffered two broken heels after he ejected from the single-seat F-18 and parachuted onto a busy highway, and at least two people on the ground were also hurt, police and Canadian authorities said.

Reports that the pilot was struck by a car on the A5 autobahn proved inaccurate, officials said.

Burning debris, ripped from the Canadian Air Force F-18s during the collision, rained down on many Karlsruhe streets, with West German television quoting witnesses as saying the engine of one jet smashed into a building.

"We were lucky it wasn't worse, because the crash occurred during rush hour," police spokesman Manfred Frey said.

West German television said the ejection-seat parachute of the pilot who died apparently failed to open after the 4:10 p.m. collision.

In Canada, the father of the victim told Canadian Press that his son, Capt. Timothy Kirk Leuty, 30, was nearing the end of his 3 1/2-year stint in West Germany as a member of the 439th Squadron based in Baden-Soellingen.

"We were really looking forward to his coming home," Stan Leuty said from his home in Meaford, Ontario. "He was due to leave in June and he was going to be based in Cold Lake, Alberta, when he got back."

The other pilot, Capt. Reginald deCoste, 35, of Jonquiere, Quebec, ejected safely and landed on a highway, breaking both heels. He was listed in good condition in the hospital, Canadian Press said.

by CNB