Spanish pilot successfully ejects from F-18 fighter jet before it crashes: video

A Spanish pilot successfully ejected from a fighter jet before it violently crashed and exploded at a military base in Zaragoza on Saturday, dramatic footage shows.

The F-18 was training for a flying exhibition when the crash occurred, Spain’s public news agency EFE reported.

Video shared on social media shows the plane steeply ascending into the sky when it suddenly appears to stall and then nosedive toward the ground where it crashed in a burst of flames as shocked onlookers watched.

According to the Spanish defense ministry, the F-18 jet landed within the boundaries of the Spanish Air and Space Force base, which is located about 10 miles outside of the city.

The Guardia Civil told The Associated Press that one of its patrols was the first to reach the ejected pilot, who landed just beyond the base’s fenced boundaries.

The pilot suffered injuries to his legs as a result of deploying his parachute at such a low altitude.

He was airlifted by helicopter to an area hospital.

Air Force officials said hours after the crash that the pilot was “recovering favorably” but would remain in the hospital under observation for “a few days.”

No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The pilot indicated that the plane suffered some sort of malfunction mid-flight, according to the Guardia Civil.

The American-made F-18 Hornet has formed a part of the air defenses of the United States since the 1980s and has been purchased by the air forces of several allied countries.

With Post Wires