Stearman Crashes After Highway Takeoff

Authorities in Chambers County, Texas, are offering few details on the crash of a Stearman that was attempting to take off from a highway in the town of Winnie on Saturday. The aircraft was destroyed but the pilot reportedly has only minor injuries. Cellphone video shows the biplane lifting off from County Highway 124 just before an intersection.

The highway appears to have been blocked off to allow the takeoff. The local Rice Festival Parade had just finished and KRTK in Houston reported that the aircraft “was headed back to the airport from the parade” when the mishap occurred. The video shows the aircraft climbing before clipping a light standard with its landing gear in the intersection. The light itself falls to the ground after that collision and a second collision with a wire on the other side of the intersection ends the flight.