Beja AirShow was immediately cancelled
The Beja AirShow festival ended in tragedy as two planes crashed in mid-air on Sunday, causing one of them to burst into flames, killing its pilot and injuring another.
The accident happened at 4.05pm during an aerial demonstration by the Yakstars Iberian patrol, made up of Portuguese and Spanish pilots. Portugal’s Air Force said in a statement.
“It is with great sorrow and dismay that the Air Force extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and acquaintances, and is deeply sympathetic in this time of loss,” the statement reads.
The event was immediately cancelled due to the accident.
A Portuguese pilot was injured due to the collision and taken to Beja’s José Joaquim Fernandes Hospital. He has already been discharged.
Patrícia Fernandes, the spokesperson for the Portuguese Air Force, said it is “too premature” to determine the cause of the accident and that an investigation will be carried out, meaning it will “take some time until we can understand what happened.”
Footage of the incident shows one of the aircraft diverging from a group of six and seemingly trying to perform a stunt, having collided with another in the process.
The Air Force confirmed that one of the planes crashed “outside of the Air Base perimeter while the other landed at the base.”
“There were no victims on land among the people who were watching the event nearby,” the Air Force said.
According to the Air Force website, the Yakstars are an aerobatic display team, the first in the history of Iberian military and civil aviation, made up of pilots from both countries.
“At the controls of six Warbird Yak52s aircraft, they show off with precise combinations of tight formations and thrilling acrobatics, high-speed passes and breathtaking crossings,” the website states.
Considered “the largest civilian aerobatic display team in southern Europe and one of the largest in the world”, the Yakstars are based in Casarrubios, near Madrid, Spain, and Ponte de Sor, Portugal.
Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and Minister of Defence, Nuno Melo, have already lamented the tragedy.
Source: LUSA
