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.
Seguimos con preocupación el accidente aéreo sucedido en la Base de #Torrejón, esperando noticias sobre la tripulación.
Afortunadamente, pese a la cercanía con las viviendas, la población civil no se ha visto afectada. pic.twitter.com/VwK8ldjrRG
— Luis Andrés Pérez (@LuisAndresPJ) October 17, 2017
The incident occurred during take-off maneuvers shortly after 11 am local time Tuesday.
Lo había grabado sin saber que era. Un F-18 se ha estrellado en las afueras de la base aérea de Torrejón pic.twitter.com/qCeqTKqfYi
— Simon Derek (@SimonDerek) October 17, 2017
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.
Parece ser que podría haber habido otro accidente de un caza F18 y el piloto se habría ejectado. Eso esperamos????????@europapress pic.twitter.com/ieGjC2tcsA
— Federacion GOES SUP (@GOESFedSUP) October 17, 2017
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.
Seguimos con preocupación el accidente aéreo sucedido en la Base de #Torrejón, esperando noticias sobre la tripulación.
Afortunadamente, pese a la cercanía con las viviendas, la población civil no se ha visto afectada. pic.twitter.com/VwK8ldjrRG
— Luis Andrés Pérez (@LuisAndresPJ) October 17, 2017
An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway, the Ministry of Defense confirmed via Twitter.
El @EjercitoAire está investigando las causas del accidente que, por el momento, son desconocidas.
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) October 17, 2017