A Polish Army pilot has died after his F-16 jet crashed during preparations for an international airshow in Poland.
In a statement on Thursday, the General Command of the Armed Forces said that the accident involved an aircraft from the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznan, western Poland. No bystanders were injured.
“A Polish Army pilot died in the crash of an F-16 aircraft – an officer who always served his country with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X after arriving at the crash scene at Radom airport, in central Poland.
Firefighters rushed to the scene after the aircraft did not recover after barreling down the runway and hitting the ground. The accident happened at around 19:30 local time (17:30 GMT).
Video on social media showed the F-16 fighter jet nose-diving and then erupting into a ball of flames as it crashed during a practice session before this year’s Radom Air Show.
On the day that I visited Polish troops serving in Latvia,
I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of the Polish pilot of the F-16 killed during the demonstration flight this evening in Radom. My thoughts are with his family and comrade soldiers.Moje najszczersze wyrazy…
— Andris Spruds (@AndrisSpruds) August 28, 2025
Local reports state that the pilot, part of an elite group of NATO air units known as “Tiger Demo”, was not seen ejecting from the plane before the crash.
The AirSHOW Radom 2025, which was due to take place this weekend, has been cancelled.
Poland first bought US-made F-16s, a jet key to NATO’s defence strategy, in 2003 and has since been in the process of upgrading its fleet amid its boosted defence spending in the wake of Russia’s 2023 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
🇮🇹🇵🇱 The Chief of Italian Defence, General #Portolano, expresses profound sorrow for the tragic loss of the Polish pilot who lost his life in the F-16 crash today.
On behalf of the Italian Armed Forces, General Portolano extends his deepest condolences to General #Kukula, to the… pic.twitter.com/Hw0jf5xjLV
— Forze Armate StatoMaggioreDifesa (@SM_Difesa) August 28, 2025
In a post on X, the Defence General Staff of Italy, a fellow NATO member, expressed “profound sorrow” following the crash.
Latvia’s minister of defence, who visited Polish troops stationed in the Eastern European country earlier on Thursday, also posted on X that he was “deeply saddened” by the death.
“My thoughts are with his family and comrade soldiers,” he said.
