Footage obtained by local media showed the aircraft performing a barrel roll before going up in flames as it slid on the ground
A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter plane crashed during a rehearsal for an air show in Radom, central Poland, and the pilot died, the army said on Thursday.
“A Polish Army pilot died in the crash of an F-16 aircraft – an officer who always served his country with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on social media after arriving at the crash scene.
The General Command of the Armed Forces said that the accident involved an aircraft from the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznan and that there were no injuries to any bystanders.
“Rescue operations were immediately initiated at the scene,” it said in a statement.
