Two people safely ejected from a vintage Russian fighter jet on Sunday in Michigan just moments before the aircraft crashed on the ground during an air show.
The dramatic moment was caught on video and showed the pilots exiting the jet just 13 seconds before it exploded upon impact.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
A plane has crashed during air show in Michigan
Pilots seen ejecting out of the plane
🎥 Sherlyn Johnson on Facebook#breakingnews #airshow #plane #breaking #news pic.twitter.com/MwKtiG2CR3
— Crime With Bobby (@crimewithbobby) August 13, 2023
Father and son witness a ‘MiG-23’ fighter jet crash into an empty field next to their apartment building during a Michigan air show..!! pic.twitter.com/7augGi6iV2
— Joshua Rodriguez (@Joshuajered) August 14, 2023
my perspective of the MiG-23 crash pic.twitter.com/2OBqYbxsnW
— aidan brav (@aidanbrav1) August 13, 2023
NBC News identified the aircraft as a MiG-23, which first went into service in the Soviet Union in 1970.
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The plane was participating in the Thunder Over Michigan air show and went down in the community of Belleville, just east of Detroit.
Randy Wimbley, a spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority, said in a statement to NBC News that both of those who ejected were hospitalized as a precaution.
Neither suffered serious injuries.
The jet struck a number of vehicles on the ground as it crashed near an apartment complex. None of the vehicles was occupied.
Videos posted on X, the platform formerly named Twitter, showed both a heavy law enforcement presence as well as wreckage at the Waverly on the Lake apartment complex.
Massive police presence at the site of the fighter jet crash in Belleville, Michigan outside The Waverly on the Lake apartment complex pic.twitter.com/GcEj1GtdiV
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 13, 2023
Closer view of the crashed MiG-23 fighter jet in Belleville, Michigan, whose pilot and backseater ejected prior to the aircraft’s crash at The Waverly on the Lake apartment complex this afternoon. No injuries have been reported from the incident pic.twitter.com/xmWxIMmGkT
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 14, 2023
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement about the crash promising an investigation and offering updates.
“The FAA’s early preliminary info: 2 people parachuted from a MiG-23 south of Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, MI while performing in the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show,” the agency said.
It added, “They landed in Belleville Lake. The aircraft crashed near an apt. building. The FAA & @NTSB will investigate.”
The FAA’s early preliminary info: 2 people parachuted from a MiG-23 south of Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, MI while performing in the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show. They landed in Belleville Lake. The aircraft crashed near an apt. building. The FAA & @NTSB will investigate.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) August 13, 2023
WDIV-TV in Detroit reported the air show suspended operations early and asked attendees to leave the area.
