An F-18 fighter of the Air Force that was doing “exhibition practices” crashed this Saturday morning at the Zaragoza Air Base. Fortunately, the pilot was able to eject from the device in time and was transferred to a hospital in the Aragonese capital with trauma and leg injuries.
During its flight, the aircraft suffered “some problem” and plummeted at around 12:10 in the morning, as confirmed by the Civil Guard. The causes of the spectacular accident are still unknown and an investigation is already underway to clarify what happened.
The crashed fighter was carrying out exhibition maneuvers that were going to be shown on the 10th, when the family day is celebrated at the Garrapinillos (Zaragoza) facilities, according to the newspaper Heraldo de Aragón.
Before rushing, the pilot managed to activate the ejection button from the cockpit and fell very close to the outer fence of the facility. There he himself was treated at first by the Benemérita before being transferred to a hospital in a 112 medical helicopter.
Despite his injuries, the life of this 15th Wing captain with more than 1,000 flight hours “is not in danger,” reported the Air Force.
For its part, the device exploded when it fell against the head of runway 30 R and was completely disintegrated. The fire was controlled by the installation’s firefighters, and some fragments were scattered outside the military compound without posing any risk to the civilian population.
The Civil Guard remains in the perimeter fence of the place for traffic management and situation control, sources from the armed institute assured.
Today’s is not the first accident involving an F-18 of the Spanish air force, where they have been present since 1986. Since then, twelve aircraft have suffered some type of mishap, with a balance of three fatalities.
The first incident occurred on November 7, 1988, when a plane belonging to Ala 15 crashed early in the afternoon in the Sierra de La Muela, 15 kilometers from Zaragoza, due to engine failure. Its sole occupant bailed out and was unharmed.
Just a week later, an F-18 and a Hercules 130 based in Zaragoza collided in mid-flight after having started landing and takeoff operations, respectively, with no casualties.
The first death occurred in November 1991 when an F-18 from the Torrejón de Ardoz base (Madrid) crashed at the Bardenas Reales shooting range in Navarra.
The other two fatal events took place in 2000 in Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza) and in 2017, when an F-18 based in Torrejón de Ardoz crashed while taking off from the air base.