Spectators watch in horror as plane plunges to ground at Spanish air show



The pilot was reportedly killed Sunday when a vintage plane crashed near Madrid. Warning: Some viewers may find this footage disturbing.

Spectators at a Spanish air show looked on in horror as a historic jet fell from the sky and exploded into a giant fireball on Sunday.

A spokesman for Spain's Defense Ministry said pilot Ladislao Tejedor Romero died of his injuries after being transported to the series burns unit of Getafe hospital. Romero, 35, was an experienced pilot who also served as assistant to Defense Minister Pedro Morenes.

The aircraft crashed into a hangar and exploded in front of nearly 3,000 people gathered at Cuatro Vientos airfield just southwest of Madrid to see vintage aircrafts and aerial acrobatics. One of the spectators caught the crash on film.

Romero was flying a 1950s-era HA-200 Saeta, one of the first jet propelled planes to be manufactured in Spain. 
Ministry spokesman Alfredo Florenza said the cause of the crash is unknown.


HA-200 Saeta

The pilot is believed to be the only fatality, but Europa Press news agency reports many others were taken to the hospital for injuries related to the crash. 

A young woman who suffered first and second degree burns was taken to a local hospital, as was a 57-year-old man who suffered an anxiety attack. Another rescue worker suffered from smoke inhalation and received aid at the scene, the new agency reported.

Jetfuel burning.