Polish F-16 crashes during Radom air show rehearsal, pilot killed

A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet from the Tiger Demo Team crashed during a rehearsal at Sadków Airport near Radom on Thursday evening, killing the pilot, officials said. The aircraft plunged nosefirst and erupted into a fireball on impact as crews prepared for the Radom International Air Show scheduled for the weekend, witnesses and video circulating on social media showed.

The crash occurred at about 7:25 p.m. local time, according to multiple local reports. Footage shared online shows the jet in a steep dive before striking the runway; the video does not appear to show the pilot ejecting. Polish government spokesperson Adam Szłapka and the Minister of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak confirmed the pilot’s death. Siemoniak described the incident on television as "a tragic evening for the Polish Air Force" and said the defense minister was traveling to the site.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Authorities reported no injuries among people on the ground or among spectators, though some accounts said the runway sustained damage. The jet was identified in multiple reports as belonging to the Polish Air Force’s Tiger Demo...