This is the horrifying moment a jet plunged into the ground before erupting in a huge fireball, killing the pilot.
Footage posted on Twitter on Sunday starts off with two planes racing across the Reno mountains in Nevada when one of them gets too low and crashes into a field.
It quickly erupted into a blaze as it skidded across the grassy knoll, sending flames flying in its wake as thousands of fans at the event watched in horror and many others watched via livestream.
The plane bounced several times as pieces of the plane seemed to fall off.
‘Oh no, oh no,’ the announcer says, as his co-host at the Jet Gold Race says: ‘There was a problem, we’ve had a catastrophe here Thomas.’
A judge then calls a red flag as the video shows smoke billowing from the crash, and the National Championship Air Races was suspended in the aftermath.
The pilot died in the catastrophe, officials announced later, but would not release his name at the press conference.
But witnesses identified him online as 61-year-old Aaron Hogue, the race’s 2021 Rookie of the Year.
Video from the Reno Air Races shows two jets racing across the Reno mountains when one of them gets too low and crashes into a field
The plane soon crashes into the ground on lap three of six during the Jet Gold Race on outer pylon five
It skidded across the landscape, sending flames flying in its wake as it continued to bounce and break apart across the field
The video ends with smoke billowing from the crash, as all other races in the National Championship Air Races were suspended
Fred Telling, the CEO and president of the Reno Air Racing Association, said at a follow-up news conference that the crash happened on lap three of six during the Jet Gold Race on outer pylon five.
‘All other pilots landed safely,’ he noted, adding that the Racing Association board ‘express our greatest sympathies to the pilot’s family and friends, as well as the race fans.’
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating the crash.
The pilot was identified online as 61-year-old Aaron Hogue, the 2021 Rookie of the Year
Tributes to Hogue started pouring in after the race, with horrified fans expressing their condolences on Facebook.
Spectators said he experienced ‘unknown complications’ with his jet in the moments before he crashed into the runway.
He had always been into planes, according to his biography on RacingJets.com, which says: ‘Aaron has been into all things motorized since [he was] a young boy, anything aviation was always high on the list!
‘Aaron took some introductory flights at 16 and finally got his ticket in 1987 after spending time in the Navy as Electricians Technician.’