The pilot and a backseater ejecting from the Russian MiG-23 during the air show in the United States. Source: Marsha Bogardus via X (Twitter)
A Russian fighter jet has crashed during the Thunder Over Michigan air show in the United States at 4:15pm, Sunday (local time) during the air show’s finale.
The MiG-23 fighter jet crashed into an apartment building’s parking lot, damaging multiple unoccupied vehicles according to the Wayne County Airport Authority.
Please pray for everyone’s safety – a jet went down at Thunder Over Michigan Air Show but pilot was able to eject. So scary! Photo of reported jet beforehand (MiG). #thunderovermichigan #airshow pic.twitter.com/UbeKP3whCC
— Rachel Keiko Schramm (@rachieschramm) August 13, 2023
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), two occupants, the pilot and a backseater, of the aircraft appeared able to safely eject from just south of the Willow Run Airport, landing in Belleville Lake.
Both occupants sustained minor injuries during the incident, and were both taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure, and received treatment for minor injuries, according to Van Buren Township supervisor Kevin McNamara
@RyanEFox2 #Thunderovermichigan Crash… Pilots ejecting 😳 so scary pic.twitter.com/P5mNsZenzY
— Marsha Bogardus (@3Scorpios) August 13, 2023
“The pilot and backseater successfully ejected from the aircraft before the crash,” said the authority. “While it did not appear they sustained any significant injuries, first responders transported the pair to a nearby hospital as a precaution.”
Please see statement reguarding the incident at the Yankee Air Museum’s Thunder Over Michigan Air Show. pic.twitter.com/DS6cvVkMrm
— DTW Airport (@DTWeetin) August 13, 2023
McNamara also confirmed that nobody on the ground was injured.
In a Facebook post, Thunder Over Michigan confirmed that a “situation” had occurred that required the airshow to be halted. Attendees were asked to go to their vehicles and “calmly” leave the airfield.
Marsha Bogardus, a regular attendee of the air show, described the Russian fighter jet as ‘dropping like a bullet’, speaking to Detroit News.
“We heard these huge booms. I started recording and saw the two pilots eject.
“It scared my kids and everyone was freaking out.
“It dropped like a bullet straight down near an apartment complex we live by. Not sure where it landed.”
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and the FAA is investigating.
The MiG-23 is a third generation Soviet-era fighter jet. It first entered production in 1967, before being replaced by the fourth generation MiG-29 in the late 1980s.
