2024-07-13 07:30 update: 2024-07-15, 14:33
Photo: PAP/Andrzej Jackowski
The M-346 Master trainer aircraft crashed on Friday around 1 pm at the airport in Gdynia Kosakowo, northern Poland.
The M-346 Master trainer aircraft crashed on Friday around 1 pm at the airport in Gdynia Kosakowo, northern Poland.
According to information provided to PAP by the spokesman of the General Command of the Armed Forces, Lt. Col. Marek Pawlak, the pilot was preparing for a show that was to take place on Saturday at the Gdynia Babie Doly airbase.
Ireneusz Nowak, an inspector for the Air Force, said that the pilot of the aircraft, Robert "Killer" Jel, had died at the scene of the crash and that he had made no attempt to eject from the plane prior to hitting the ground.
The planned event was to mark the 30th anniversary of the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade. Due to the accident, the celebrations have been called off.
In the mid-afternoon, the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade posted the following on social media: "Today, at the airbase of the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia Babie Doly, during a training flight for the 30th anniversary of the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade, an M-346 aircraft crashed. A rescue operation is underway. All activities related to tomorrow's celebrations are cancelled."
Shortly before 3 pm, the spokesperson for the fire brigade from the town of Puck, northern Poland, announced that the fire-fighting operation at the airport had been completed and the wreck site was being secured.
The spokesperson also reported that members of the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Commission were scheduled to arrive at the crash site.
Later on Friday, Nowak announced that all flights on the M-346 Master aircrafts had been suspended pending investigation of the cause of the accident. (PAP)
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