A military plane has crashed Thursday near the Llanos Air Base in Albacete south of Madrid and the pilot has died, according to the Spanish Ministry of Defense.
The First Minister of Castilla La Mancha, Emiliano García Page, confirmed on Twitter that the pilot had died "in Albacete, serving Spain".
Acaban de comunicar la triste noticia.Mi pesar y el de toda CLM por el fallecimiento del piloto en Albacete sirviendo a España #12deOctubre
— Emiliano García-Page (@garciapage) October 12, 2017
Before the crash, the jet was reportedly on its way back from participating in a military parade in Madrid to mark Hispanic Day, according to the Spain Report and Russia Today.
Footage shared on Twitter shows black clouds of smoke emanating from the apparent crash site near a public park called La Pulgosa, Express reported.
Accidente aéreo en la Base Aérea de Los Llanos. #albacete pic.twitter.com/4D488KICpO
— MARIO_RP (@marioruiz_ab) October 12, 2017
Así se veía el accidente aéreo desde otro punto de #Albacete, a 6km del accidente. pic.twitter.com/k8Lf0IzWr7
— Sr.Pardo (@BorjaPardo16) October 12, 2017
Ha coincidido con el retorno de los aviones del desfile , pero no sé que ha pasado.#Albacete #DiadelaFiestaNacional pic.twitter.com/KhHSMiL7u0
— Cjaks (@ekleptiko) October 12, 2017
The plane was participating in the military parade of ‘12th of October’ – Spain’s national day – in Madrid, reports Telecinco.
La @patrullaguila dibuja los colores de nuestra bandera en cielo de #Madrid????????#OrgullososDeSerEspañoles ???????? pic.twitter.com/SsOqCIPjTw
— Ejército del Aire (@EjercitoAire) October 12, 2017
Local police in Albacete said they were working to secure the crash site and help other first responders. The MoD has opened an investigation.