Spectators were enjoying the buzz and rumble at the Thunder Over Michigan air show on Sunday.
Little were they expecting to see a fighter jet burst into smoke and its two occupants ejected out in a successful emergency exit as their plane continued to descend, crashing into a nearby parking lot of an apartment building.
According to the Wayne County Airport Authority, a retired Soviet MiG-23 fighter jet crashed into the parking lot as it was performing. Fortunately, the vehicles impacted during the crash were unoccupied.
The two occupants were able to deploy their parachutes and landed just south of Willow Run Airport in Belleville Lake. They have since been taken to a local hospital for observation.
“The pilot and backseater successfully ejected from the aircraft before the crash,” Randy Wimbley, a spokesman for the airport said. “While it did not appear they sustained any significant injuries, first responders transported the pair to a nearby hospital as a precaution.”
Fortunately, no other injuries have been reported. First responders attended the scene of the crash to put out the flames.
The two-day event said on its Facebook page that the remainder of the show had been canceled owing to the crash, which happened around 4 p.m. Sunday was its last day.
Thousands were gathered in Van Buren township, Michigan, for the Yankee Air Museum’s 25th anniversary event.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the incident.
