SINGAPORE — A T-50 from South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatic team caught on fire during takeoff at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday.
A video of the flight demonstration posted to YouTube shows three T-50s taking off in formation, followed by another two aircraft. A sixth aircraft skidded behind, swerving into the grass before erupting into flames.
After the incident, which occurred around 1:30 p.m. Singapore time, airport emergency services put out the fire and the pilot was sent to the clinic for a check-up, according to a statement posted by the official Twitter account of Changi Airport.
“The pilot sustained light injuries and is being treated,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said in a statement on Facebook.
The Black Eagles team was scheduled to perform the final demonstration of the first day of Singapore Airshow, which runs until Feb. 11. Runway 1, where the accident took place, has temporarily been shut down, and delays to commercial flight operations at the airport were expected.
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The Black Eagles demonstration team operates eight Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 jets. Sources tell Defense News that the accident occurred to Black Eagle #6.
The Black Eagles were not scheduled to perform on Wednesday, but a decision has not been made as to whether the team will conduct a demo on Thursday as originally planned, said a statement from Experia Events, which plans the air show. “We will provide an update on the rest of their scheduled performances as soon as possible.”
Valerie Insinna is Defense News' air warfare reporter. She previously worked the Navy/congressional beats for Defense Daily, which followed almost three years as a staff writer for National Defense Magazine. Prior to that, she worked as an editorial assistant for the Tokyo Shimbun’s Washington bureau.
Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.
