• Pilot Daniel Pérez Carmona, the experienced F-18 pilot who saved his life in Zaragoza
  • Accident An F-18 crashes in Zaragoza and the pilot manages to save his life by ejecting in flight

The F-18 that crashed at Zaragoza Air Base on Saturday was piloted by Captain Daniel Pérez Carmona, an experienced instructor of the 15th Wing with more than 1,000 flight hours.

By jumping by parachute he was able to save his life, but, as a result of the impact against the ground, he suffered, in addition to burns on his arms, a fracture of the pelvis and lumbar vertebrae, as well as ankle, although none of them life-threatening, from which he recovers in the ICU of the Miguel Servet Hospital after having been operated.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has reported on its Twitter account that "there is an investigation underway to find out the causes of the accident" and there have been reactions against such flights in the vicinity of towns.

PROTESTS OVER THE EXERCISES

The Anti-Polygon Assembly of Shooting of the Bardenas Reales has indicated this Sunday that, "although fortunately there have been no deaths and we wish the speedy recovery of the injured pilot, the F18 fighter of the Zaragoza air base that has crashed in the vicinity of the Aragonese capital, puts on the table the danger posed by the exercises carried out with these aircraft. "

He adds that the intensification of military practices carried out in the Campo de San Gregorio "is a clear example of the increase in war tension that has been aggravated since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. Much of the war is being fought in the airspace and we are convinced that the tests carried out at the Firing Range are not unrelated to this."

This assembly warns "of the enormous military expenditure and the danger that we run the population of the surroundings of the Bardenas" and calls to participate in the March to the Shooting Polygon of the Bardenas for its dismantling, which will take place on June 4.

For its part, Chunta Aragonesista (CHA) has announced that it will ask for explanations in the Senate for the accident of the fighter and denounces that a third of the municipality of Zaragoza is destined to military uses

Chuaquín Bernal, candidate for mayor of Zaragoza for CHA, has warned this Sunday "of the inconveniences posed to the neighbors by the proximity of this military base and the maneuver field of San Gregorio to the city."

For these reasons, Bernal has announced the presentation of an initiative in the Senate through Carles Mulet, senator of Compromís, to ask the Government of the Spanish State.

They want you to clarify the circumstances in which the accident occurred, the safety measures adopted, and whether the revision of the protocol of this type of activities is planned, especially if they take place near densely populated urban centers.

Likewise, the CHA candidate recalled that "a third of the municipality of Zaragoza is currently destined for military uses, without any compensation for the affections they cause to the municipality, both to the planning of the environment and to the safety and well-being of its inhabitants".

It adds that CHA demands "the demilitarization of the air base and the dismantling of the San Gregorio maneuver field and its return to the city."

Pérez Carmona, an experienced pilot

Captain Pérez Carmona has been an Air Force pilot for 15 years and 11 months and has a complete military and university training. Likewise, it belongs since 2018 to the State Aviation Safety Agency and is also a civil drone operator.

According to his Linkedin profile, after passing through the General Air Academy and leaving as an officer of the Air Force in 2012, in 2016 he completed the Tactical Leadership Programme, and his training is completed with a master's degree in Aeronautical Management from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Just eight days ago Pérez Carmona himself told on the official YouTube channel of the Air Force how they are and how this type of exhibitions are carried out step by step.

In the video you can see the captain exercising the dangerous maneuvers and explaining what each acrobatic technique consists of as those that were about to cost his life for reasons that are still unknown.

When the accident occurred, Captain Pérez Carmona was conducting a rehearsal of the exhibition maneuvers planned for June 10, the day on which the open day for families is held at the facilities of the Zaragoza Air Base.

It is a day in which up to three hundred people can congregate in which a meal and games for children are organized. According to Heraldo de Aragón, the practice of the flight was being witnessed by colleagues of the captain and base personnel who watched astonished as the aircraft crashed.

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