In a statement, Battle Creek police identified Chris Darnell, 40, as the driver of the SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck, a custom-made semi-truck equipped with three jet engines, descending the airport runway. Battle Creek executive over 300 miles. for hours.
The crash occurred around 1:10 p.m. “during the pyrotechnic part” of the show at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, police said earlier.
The video recorded by air show assistant Mike Westra showed the truck running with two planes, speeding down the runway before turning and crashing. Another video shows a parachute unfolding behind the truck just before the crash.
A thick column of black smoke and fire seen in the videos was part of the show’s pyrotechnic display and was unrelated to the crash, Westra told CNN. In the videos, smoke and fire are seen before the truck loses control.
Emergency crews were at the airport waiting and responded quickly, Westra said. “In a minute or two they were putting water on the fire,” Westra added.
Westra saw the charred remains once the fire was extinguished, he said, telling CNN, “It was upside down.”
The crash is under investigation by the Battle Creek police department and fire department, police said.
The rest of the air show on Saturday was canceled after the crash, according to a post on the festival’s Facebook page.
According to the company’s website, the SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 350 miles per hour. According to the site, the truck was driven by Darnell and was owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises of Springfield, Missouri. In a statement, Darnell’s father, Neal Darnell, confirmed that his young son had died, and wrote that the accident occurred “as a result of a mechanical failure.”
“We are very sad,” Neal Darnell wrote. “Just a month ago Chris turned 40. He was much loved by everyone who met him. Chris loved the Air Show business very much.”
CNN’s Sara Smart contributed to this report.