Spanish fighter jet nearly crashes into crowd during airshow, footage goes viral

Indian Express

6 days ago

A Spanish Air Force EF-18 Hornet narrowly escaped disaster during an airshow at the San Lorenzo Bay in Gijón, northern Spain during an airshow on Sunday.
The now-viral video shows the fighter jet flying at a low altitude over the crowded beach when it suddenly takes a sharp right turn, leaving onlookers frightened. For a few seconds, the aircraft appears to lose control and descend close to the ground.
As the video progresses, black smoke can be seen emanating from the aircraft, prompting panic among the crowd. However, the jet soon stabilizes and climbs back into the sky.
Watch here:
Hoy en el Festival Internacional Aéreo de Gijón podía haber ocurrido una desgracia, si no es por la pericia del Capitán Botana a los mandos del F18 Superhornet. 🙌🏻
Se comentaba que algún pájaro pudo haber tenido la culpa. ¿Qué opináis?@GijonAirshow @A3Noticias @lanuevaespana pic.twitter.com/PkzU07kxU3
— VISUAIR (@Visuair) July 27, 2025
The video quickly gained traction, sparking safety concerns in aviation. 'Not sure I buy the birds piece unless there is a good 4k view of this incident. I ran this on a large screen and paused where the adjustments were made but did not see any birds,' a user pointed. 'Almost all accidents happen due to not aborting a stunt in time that doesn't start well. Congratulations to the captain, who saw it wasn't going to work and corrected the 360 in time and pulled it off with guts,' another user commented.
According to a statement shared by the Spanish Air Force on X, the pilot was avoiding a flock of birds that had appeared in the flight path.
'Many of you have been asking us, so in this thread, we'll tell you what happened during the Gijón air festival. As you have seen, one of our F-18 fighters performed an evasive manoeuvre upon detecting a flock of birds in its path. This action is part of the standard protocol to preserve both the pilot's safety and the public's security,' the Spanish Air Force said in its post.
'Our aviators are trained to react in milliseconds to any unforeseen event. In this case, the pilot acted with exemplary speed and professionalism, avoiding a possible collision without compromising the exhibition. Safety is, and will continue to be, our top priority at every air show. Thank you to all attendees for your enthusiasm and trust. Let's keep flying together,' the statement read.