Dramatic video shows moment duo eject from vintage Soviet plane just before Michigan crash
Heartstopping footage has shown the dramatic moment a pilot and passenger ejected from a vintage Soviet plane just before it crashed at an airshow in Michigan.
The pair are seen silhouetted against the sky as they jump from the MiG-23, which speeds towards the ground.
The duo released parachutes and landed safely in the water at Belleville Lake as the fighter jet hit the ground beside an apartment building, sending up a plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles.
Randy Wimbley, the spokesperson for the Wayne County Airport Authority, told NBC News that the pilot and passenger were not seriously injured but were hospitalised as a precaution.
He described the aircraft as a demonstration plane.
The plane hit two cars in the car park at the Waverly on the Lake Apartments near a freeway in Belleville, according to NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit.
The two vehicles struck by the plane were unoccupied and no-one on the ground was reported injured, according to the authorities.
The jet was taking part in the Thunder Over Michigan airshow hosted by the Yankee Air Museum when the crash occurred just before 4pm local time on the second day of the event. The rest of the day’s activities were cancelled.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Dan Filer was listed as a pilot for the plane in the event programme.
