A pilot died after the jet he was flying during a D-Day anniversary airshow crashed into the Mediterranean sea.
The Fouga Magister jet crashed during the airshow in Lavandou, southern France, said French authorities."The body of the pilot has been recovered," said the local authority responsible for the Var region in southern France.
Footage shared online showed the distressing moment the jet came down in front of shocked spectators.
#Fouga Magister jet has crashed into the sea during an airshow near #Lavandou, on #France’s Mediterranean coast, the prefecture of the Var region said in a statement. It added that a rescue operation is under way to try and find the pilot. The #airshow was part of a commemoration… pic.twitter.com/jhArXv1Nbx
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) August 16, 2024
French authorities said an inquiry was underway to examine what caused the accident.
The airshow was part of a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Allied forces' D-Day landings in Provence.
The airshow had also involved the French Air Force's 'Patrouille de France' aerobatics team, which decided to cancel its demonstration at the event in light of the accident.
The crash comes just two days after two French military jets collided in eastern France, killing two military personnel and leaving a sole survivor.
Those jets collided in midair and in a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron identified the dead men as Captain Sebastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens.
French media said one of the two was a trainee pilot and the other a pilot. The planes were based at the Saint-Dizier military installation in northeastern France.
