Pilot killed after F-16 jet crashes in Poland

A pilot was killed Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed in central Poland, according to media reports.

The Polish F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight before the 2025 Radom International Air Show, TVP World reported, citing officials.

The accident, the first F-16 jet crash in the country's aviation history, took place at around 7.25 pm local time (1725GMT) during a training flight of the Polish Air Force's F-16 Tiger Demo aerial display team.

The pilot was killed, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who traveled to the scene and briefed Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"I am at the scene of the tragedy. In the F-16 plane crash, a pilot of the Polish Army lost his life ... this is a great loss for the Air Force and the entire Polish Army," Kosiniak-Kamysz said on US social media company X.

The Radom International Air Show, scheduled from Aug. 30-31, has been canceled due to the crash, according to reports.