A stunt pilot died on Saturday when his plane crashed to the ground in a fiery ball at an air show at the DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Georgia, video taken by spectators showed.
The pilot was identified as Greg Connell in a social media posting linked to his website, Greg Connell Airshows. The crash occurred during the annual Good Neighbor Day Airshow and Open House at the Atlanta area airport.
“Please keep Greg’s family and friends in your prayers,” the posting on Connell’s website said. “There are no words to describe what we all are feeling.”
Officials at the airport and the DeKalb County Police Department did not immediately respond to calls on Sunday about the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were among the investigating agencies.
Spectator videos posted on news websites showed Connell’s plane crisscrossing past another stunt plane close to the ground. The planes then soared into high arcs and as Connell returned for another pass over the ground the plane instead struck the surface and tumbled into a ball of fire and then black smoke, the videos showed.
The air show announcer can be heard advising adults to have children look away from the crash scene.
Connell had been a pilot since 1989 and lived in Trenton, S.C., according to the air show website.
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Video: CNN on YouTube
Source: Reuters
