UPDATE - Polish military plane crashes during airshow rehearsals, killing pilot

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY POLISH PRESIDENT

By Talha Ozturk and Merve Berker

ANKARA/ BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A Polish military plane crashed on Friday while rehearsing for an airshow, killing the pilot, the armed forces said.

Social media footage showed an M-346 Bielik crashing into the ground during rehearsals for the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade’s 30th Anniversary event in the port city of the same name.

"It is with deep regret that we inform you that today, during an M-346 Bielik training flight at the airport of the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia Babich-Doly, Major Pilot Robert ‘Killer’ Jel tragically died," the General Armed Forces Command said on X.

Separately, Polish President Adrzej Duda also wrote on X: “It is with deep regret that I received the news about the crash of the M-346 Bielik plane, in which the pilot of the Polish Air Force tragically died.”

“This is a painful loss for the entire Polish Army,” he said, adding: “I express my condolences to his family and loved ones.”

The social media video suggested that Jel did not eject from the plane.

Founded last year, the M-346 aerobatic team debuted at Poland’s largest air show, in Radom, in east-central Poland.