Pilot dies when experimental plane crashes before air show in Virginia, officials say

LSV SP/4 James A. Loux heads down the James River for a deployment to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Va. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

HAMPTON, Va. — 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.

The Associated Press