Pilot dies in horror crash after vintage plane plummets to earth at air show

A pilot died yesterday after his vintage plane crashed at an air show in Iowa.

The Soviet jet plummeted to the ground in front of thousands of horrified spectators on Saturday in a massive explosion.

The accident at the annual Quad-City Air Show occurred near a busy interstate highway in Davenport, Iowa.

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Horrifying: The accident took place near a busy freeway on Saturday afteoon

The L-39 jet, developed in the former Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s, crashed around 1.30pm on Saturday, according to Jacob Pries of the Davenport Police Department.

The jet was flying in formation shortly before it crashed alongside the I-80 highway.

It plowed into a field near the Easte Iowa Industrial Center in northe Davenport.

There were no injuries or reports of any damage on the ground, Mr Fries added.

He said the cause of the crash was under investigation and the pilot's name was being withheld pending notification of his family.

Tragedy: The pilot of the Soviet-era military training jet has not yet been identified

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane is owned by the Warbird Education Foundation of Frisco, Texas. Glenn Smith is CEO and David Mills is director.

Both men are members of The Hoppers flight jet team that was involved in Saturday's accident, but authorities would not say whether either was flying the plane that crashed.

Police spokesman Don Schaeffer said at a news conference that the plane flew directly into the ground, and the pilot did not have enough time to eject from the plane.

'He never had an opportunity to come out of it,' he said.

Distraught: One of the plane's owners comforts the family of the victim following the disaster

Davenport police and federal investigators planned to comb the field for widely scattered wreckage from the plane.

Mr Schaeffer estimated parts of the plane were strewn over an area up to 220 yards, or a tenth of a mile.

Schaeffer said he had no information about what may have caused the crash.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were at the scene, but they did not take part in the news conference.

The crash investigation was expected to resume Sunday moing, Schaeffer said.