Aviation event in Beja, Portugal, was canceled after an aerobatics team suffered a deadly mid-air collision
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Two planes collided mid-air during the Beja Air Show in southern Portugal on Sunday, leaving one of the pilots dead and another injured.
The fatal accident occurred during the display by the Yaksars, a Portuguese-Spanish aerobatics team that flies the Yakovlev Yak-52, a Soviet-era trainer piston aircraft. Multiple videos of the crash were taken by spectators who’d gathered to watch the show.
Footage from the scene shows six Yak-52s flying in a tight diamond formation, with one of the planes falling out of it and lagging behind. The aircraft, which appeared to be emitting smoke from its engine, abruptly climbed and hit another one before coming to a halt.
Beja Air Show accident 😨😞 DEP pic.twitter.com/4WrRfoLCeO
— Don Expensive 🇪🇦 ✞ 🐸 (@kar0____) June 2, 2024
The presumably malfunctioning aircraft then plummeted into the ground, exploding on impact and killing its pilot.
Pilot killed after two Yakovlev Yak-52 aircraft of the Spanish-Portuguese Yakstars formation team collided during the Beja Air Show in Portugal. pic.twitter.com/fKAczVQH8A
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 2, 2024
The plane it hit mid-air managed to make an emergency landing on the runway but flipped upon stopping, another video shows. Its pilot reportedly sustained injuries of unspecified severity.
The Portuguese Air Force acknowledged the incident, revealing that the deceased pilot was a Spanish national. Following the crash, the airshow was wrapped up prematurely and all visitors evacuated safely from the site.
