Manuel Rey, a pilot of Spanish nationality from the Yakstars patrol, died in a plane crash this Sunday following a collision during the Beja Air Show, which is attended by dozens of military aircraft and helicopters. The identity of the pilot was revealed by the Spanish press. As a result of the accident, a 37-year-old Portuguese man was injured and taken to Beja Hospital.
According to the Portuguese Air Force, the air festival was interrupted due to the accident.
The alarm was received at 16:05.
According to eyewitnesses, the crash involved aircraft from the YAK-STARS aerobatic patrol, “the largest civilian aerobatic team in southern Europe,” according to an Air Force description in the event program.
A source from the Air and Rail Accident Prevention and Investigation Authority (GPIAAF) told Lusa that the organization had already moved the team to Air Base No. 11 in Beja.
“SPIAAF is in contact with the Air Force regarding investigative actions,” since the festival where the accident occurred is “organized and controlled by the airspace” of that branch of the Armed Forces, he added.
Yakstars, according to the Air Force website, is an aerobatic team, the first in the history of Iberian military and civil aviation, consisting of pilots from both countries.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro expressed this Sunday “great shock, solidarity and regret for the Portuguese Air Force” over the incident at the Beja Air Festival, which left one person dead.
“I want to express all the solidarity and readiness of the Government to be able to minimize the damage, which is always irreparable in the event of life,” said the head of government during a speech at a conference dedicated to the 136th anniversary of the Journal magazine. de Notícias at the Casa da Música in the harbour.
Author: Joao Carlos Rodriguez This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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