[TheCruxofBag]

A Polish F-16 fighter jet crashed, and a renowned pilot was killed, during a training flight on Thursday ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.

The accident occurred at around 7.25 pm on Thursday during a training flight of the Polish Air Force’s F-16 Tiger Demo aerial display team. The pilot was killed, according to former Polish interior minister, Tomasz Siemoniak. A statement from the General Command of the Polish Armed Forces identified the pilot as flying ace Major Maciej ‘Slab’ Krakowian.

Krakowian was the leader of the display team and, earlier in August, was awarded the ‘As the Crow Flies’ Trophy by aviation enthusiasts for the “best overall flying demonstration” at the 2025 Royal International Air Tattoo, the world’s largest military airshow. An experienced combat pilot with over 1,000 F-16 flying hours, Krakowian was an instructor at the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznań.

Krakowian was a graduate of the Aviation training institute in Dęblin and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where he studied for four years. In addition to his display flying, Krakowian had also undergone specialist training and flown in numerous international missions, the Polish Armed Forces reported on its website.

It is the first F-16 aircraft disaster in the history of Polish aviation.

[CrushedOrange]

Box loop claims another one.

I’m going to 100% speculate that is looks like another field elevation/maneuver height miscalculation like the Thunderbirds on 2003 and many others through the years.

[houseoftechno]

Looked to me like a loop height miscalculation while he was apexing.

[kellyhound]

Flying the F-16C Block 52+, the Tiger Demo Team is the only in Europe to fly with conformal fuel tanks during this year’s airshow season. The leader of the team and demo pilot is Major Maciej “SLAB” Krakowian, which stepped into the role in 2023.

[volleyballbat]

Hell of a show indeed, nice effects!

[DarkSighted]

Originally Posted by houseoftechno ↗

Looked to me like a loop height miscalculation while he was apexing.

Last time that happened to me, (1) I was in traction for 3 months and (2) I pulled a groin muscle that wasn't mine.

[Mr.NoCredit]

How many “G’s” does the pilot achieve during that maneuver?!

Sad occurrence for any country to lose a valuable officer in their Air force. Thousands of hours of school and training those people go through to get assigned their own jet. They’re some special individuals in that line of work.

[durt]

Originally Posted by Mr.NoCredit ↗

How many “G’s” does the pilot achieve during that maneuver?!

Not enough this time

[Mr.NoCredit]

Originally Posted by durt ↗

Not enough this time

Actually probably too many. Too many G’s and you pass out. There’s a really cool documentary on Netflix about the The Blue Angels which explains a lot about these kinds of maneuvers, how difficult and how dangerous. It’s worth the watch.

[kellyhound]