Air force officer killed in tyre explosion in a car

A US air force officer has died after a tyre exploded inside her sports car while she was on holiday in Scotland.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Apr 2010, 01:18 GMT

Updated 3rd Apr 2010, 01:19 GMT

Captain Jenna Wilcox, 27, was on a break with her husband when the freak accident happened.

It is thought the couple had changed the wheel after noticing a bulge in the tyre.

They replaced it with the space saver tyre but could not fit the full sized one in the boot because it was full of luggage.

Capt Wilcox, of the 100th Civil Engineer Squadron based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, sat with it on her lap inside the BMW Z3 car.

She died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, five days after the accident.

Her 27-year-old husband Scott suffered minor injuries in the explosion.

Her husband is also a captain in the air force with 48th Civil Engineer Squadron at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.