A small aerobatic plane crashed into the sea Friday, August 16, during an airshow off the coast of southeast France with the pilot feared trapped inside, officials said.
The Fouga Magister aircraft was performing at Le Lavandou just before a demonstration by the French Air Force’s elite acrobatic flying team, a French Air Force spokesperson told AFP.
Built after World War II, the Fouga Magister was for many years used by the French army as a trainer jet and aerobatic plane. It has no ejection seat.
A rescue operation was launched to locate the pilot, the prefecture said in a statement.
The show was canceled due to the “tragic circumstances”, officials said.
On Wednesday, two French pilots died after two Rafale fighter jets collided in mid-air in eastern France, in a rare accident involving France’s leading military jet.
A third pilot ejected following the crash over Colombey-les-Belles, a town in northeastern France.