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Spanish F-18 Jet Crashes Outside Madrid; Pilot Killed

Another military jet, this time an F-18 fighter belonging to 12th Wing of the Spanish Air Force, crashed near the Torrejon military base outside Madrid on Tuesday, according to the Spanish Defense Ministry, killing the pilot in the second fatal accident involving a Spanish military jet in the past week. Five days ago, a Eurofighter jet suffered an unknown malfunction on its way back from participating in a military parade in honor of Spain’s Oct. 12 National Day. The jet crashed south of Madrid, killing pilot Borja Aybar, local press reported.

The F-18 on Tuesday suffered a loss of power, but no further information was immediately available, according to the Spain Report.

The incident occurred during take-off maneuvers shortly after 11 am local time Tuesday.

The F-18 was from the 12th wing of the Spanish Air Force, according to Spain's El Mundo. The pilot was unable to eject and was killed on impact.

Local emergency services have been dispatched to Torrejon and are coordinating with firefighters stationed there. An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway, the Ministry of Defense confirmed via Twitter.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway, the Ministry of Defense confirmed via Twitter.