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HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — A pilot who was preparing for an upcoming
air show in an experimental plane died Thursday when the
aircraft crashed at a military base in coastal Virginia,
officials said.
The civilian plane crashed shortly before noon while landing at
Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, base officials said in a
news release. The pilot was the only person onboard.
The person flying the plane has not been identified. The pilot
was preparing for the Air Power Over Hampton Roads air show,
which was scheduled for this weekend at the base.
“Today we lost a friend of our Air Force family," Joint Base
Langley-Eustis commander Col. Matthew Altman said in a
statement. “On behalf of our entire JBLE team, I want to express
our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of this
incredible aviator.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X
that it was “investigating the crash of an experimental MX
Aircraft MXS."
The MXS is a single-seat airplane, according to the MX Aircraft
website. The Australian company specializes in sport, aerobatic
and race aircraft.
The base where the crash occurred is composed of the Army's Fort
Eustis and Langley Air Force Base, which sits near the
southwestern edge of the Chesapeake Bay.
The installation is home to squadrons of F-22 Raptor fighter
jets. One of them shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the
Atlantic in 2023.
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