An Air and Space Army F-18 crashes in Zaragoza during an exhibition flight

An F-18 fighter of the 15th wing of the Air and Space Army that was doing exhibition practices this Saturday has crashed at the Zaragoza air base. The pilot has been able to eject in time, and has been transferred to a hospital in Zaragoza with trauma and leg injuries. The Air and Space Force has indicated through a tweet that his life is not in danger.

Images of the F-18 fighter that crashed this morning in Zaragoza (fortunately the pilot has ejected) pic.twitter.com/p53J1PxqG4

— miguel gonzalez (@mgonzalezelpais) May 20, 2023

As confirmed by the Civil Guard, the fighter, which was doing practice, has suffered "some problem" and has crashed, after the pilot managed to activate the maneuver of expulsion from the cockpit. The events occurred around 12.10 in the morning, inside the grounds of the air base, without causing any damage to the population.

It is not the first accident with the F-18 of the Spanish air force. The first incident with these devices, which cost around 60 million euros, occurred in 1988, two years after their premiere, also in Zaragoza. In 2000, two F-18s based in the Aragonese town crashed in mid-flight. In 2017, an F-18 based in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) crashed on takeoff from the air base, killing its pilot.