Lanzhou [China], Aug. 27 : A South African pilot was killed after his aerobatic aircraft XA42 plummeted to the ground during a flight show in northwest China's Gansu Province on Saturday.
The event organizer confirmed that Paul Smith died in the crash at about 10:47 a.m. at the 1st Silk Road International General Aviation Convention held at the Danxia airport, reports Xinhua.
A video clip provided by a spectator showed that the plane lost control while making a dive and crashed into the Gobi desert about 100 meters from the airport runway.
No other casualties were however reported and an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.
The U.S. aerobatic flight team that Smith worked for has canceled all flights while other aerobatic flights went as scheduled on Saturday afternoon.
The Danxia airport, the first general aviation airport in Gansu, opened on Friday along with the three-day general aviation convention which will last till Sunday.
Source: ANI
