MADRID (Reuters) – A Eurofighter combat jet plane crashed near a military base in southeastern Spain on Thursday, killing its pilot, an emergency services spokesman said.

Local emergency services received a call at 1009 GMT informing them that the plane had crashed on farmland around the Los Llanos base near the town of Albacete, the spokesman said.

The jet had been taking part in a military parade to commemorate Spain’s national holiday and crashed on its return, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The causes of the accident were being investigated, the ministry added in a note.

The crash represents the third fatal accident involving an Eurofighter in less than one month, following the death of a Saudi pilot in a Typhoon crash during a combat mission in Yemen on Sept. 13, and an accident with an Italian Typhoon during a national airshow on Sept. 24.

Release Reuters

Picture Rob Vogelaar