Chris Darnell, driver of the SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck, died final Saturday, July 2 after an accident throughout an illustration at an airshow in Battle Creek, Michigan. The custom-built race truck encompasses a trio of jet engines that collectively create some 21,000 kilos of power. Mr. Darnell was the one particular person damage within the crash and authorities are nonetheless attempting to find out the precise nature and reason behind the accident.

The Darnell household has been concerned in high-speed driving for greater than a decade. Again in 2005, Chris’s father Neal Darnell set a high pace world document along with his Flash Fireplace Jet Truck which went 375 mph (603 km/h) at Tyndall Air Drive base in Florida. That document nonetheless stands right now. That zeal fed into Chris’s love for motorsports, a ardour he had since childhood.

Throughout his profession, he competed in circle observe and drag racing earlier than sharing driving duties along with his father behind the wheel of the household’s Jet Vehicles. Saturday’s incident, on the Battle Creek Discipline of Flight Air Present and Balloon Competition in Battle Creek, befell as Darnell was racing two airplanes down the runway at full throttle. Close to the top of the runway, he deployed his drag chute as flames engulfed the automobile earlier than it tumbled and broke aside.

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Ideas and prayers to Chris Darnell and the remainder of the Darnell household. Horrible accident right now on the Battle Creek Airshow. #airshow #shockwavejettruck pic.twitter.com/pQ7uWwminR

— Nate Burrows (@HawkeyeAvGeek) July 2, 2022

Movies from the occasion don’t present any specific failure and Battle Creek PD is constant its investigation into what precipitated the crash. Neal posted a brief message on the Shockwave Jet Truck Fb web page with extra data and blamed a mechanical failure on the automobile.

“Throughout right now’s SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck efficiency on the Battlecreek Discipline of Flight Airshow an accident occurred because of a mechanical failure on the Jet Truck. Regretfully Chris Darnell the driving force and my youngest son handed away from his accidents at roughly 1:01 pm.

“We’re so unhappy. Only one month in the past Chris turned 40. He was so properly beloved by everybody who knew him. Chris so beloved the Air Present enterprise. He was “Residing the Dream“ as he stated.”