Spain plane crash: Pilot dead after military aircraft crashes into sea

Video shows plane nosediving into water during training mission off coast of La Manga

A Spanish air force pilot has died after his military plane crashed into the sea off the country’s southeast coast.

Spain’s defence ministry said a body found in the water by search teams was believed to be commander Francisco Marin Nunez.

The pilot managed to eject before his single-seat light attack aircraft crashed into the sea off the coast of La Manga, Murcia, during a training flight on Monday morning.

Footage posted on social media showed the Spanish-built C-101 hitting the water just before 9.40am local time (7.40am GMT.) The aircraft was seen nosediving before pulling up slightly before impact.

Emergency services dispatched rescue boats and a helicopter to search for the airman.

The air force said the cause of the crash was not yet known and it was still awaiting forensic confirmation of the pilot’s identity.

Mr Nunez was a flying instructor at the military’s General Air Academy.

A defence ministry tweet spoke of “great dismay” at his death. It added: “We join the pain of family, friends and air force colleagues.”

Parts of the crashed plane later washed up on Galua beach, where the was a strong smell of gas, El Pais reported.

The accident came a day after seven people were killed in a mid-air collision between a light plane a helicopter in Mallorca, in Spain’s Balearic Islands.