POLAND: Air Force Pilot Crashes Jet During Practice

HIGHTECHDUDE · #1 ● 07-13-2024, 03:12 AM

I think this is a two place jet but apparently only the pilot was onboard...

Originally Posted by Google Translation:

GDYNIA, (July 12, 2024) — Today, during rehearsals for the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade’s 30th Anniversary event, Polish Air Force’s M-346 Demo Team jet crashed during its flying display.

The footage available online and posted on social media suggests that the pilot did not eject.

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The M-346 Demo Team, Poland’s newest aerobatic team, was founded in 2023 and debuted at the largest air show in Poland, the Air Show in Radom. The team comprises two Demo Team pilots, Major Adrian “Chudy” Chudziński and Major Robert “Killer” Jeł, who are instructors training cadets at the Air Force Academy in Dęblin. Both have over a thousand hours of flight time on the M-346 “Bielik” aircraft. The team also includes technicians and commentators.

Their primary task at the 41st Air Training Base is flight training for future fighter aircraft pilots, destined for the F-16 and F-35. “We don’t fly this aircraft aerobatically every day. We do it additionally, out of a passion for flying. It gives us great joy and fun, and if we can make others happy with it, we reach the peak of our dreams,” said Major Robert Jeł in a post published by the Polish Air Force website.

The typical airshow routine of the M-346 Demo Team lasts about 10 minutes and aims to showcase the agility and power of the aircraft.

Update 14.00 GMT
The Polish Armed Forces have confirmed that Maj. Robert “Killer” Jeł lost his life in the crash.