Pilot dies in airshow crash off French coast; rare jet involved

On Friday, the Fouga Magister airplane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during an airshow near Lavandou, France. The pilot perished, and his body was found after several hours of searching.

The AFP agency explained that the pilot could not eject because the aircraft is not equipped with an ejection system. Witnesses recorded the accident.

The airshow was part of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in France. The Fouga Magister is a collector’s aircraft, with its design dating back to the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The French Air Force originally used the Fouga Magister as a training aircraft. However, in some countries, it was re-armed and used as a light attack aircraft.