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This is an archive article published on August 27, 2016

South African pilot killed in aerobatic plane crash in China

A South African pilot was killed after his aerobatic aircraft plummeted to the ground during a flight show in northwest China's Gansu Province, the event organiser said.

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A South African pilot was Saturday killed after his aerobatic aircraft plummeted to the ground during a flight show in northwest China’s Gansu Province, the event organiser said.

Paul Smith died in the crash at the 1st Silk Road International General Aviation Convention held at the Danxia airport in the city of Zhangye, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the organiser.

A video clip provided by a spectator showed that the plane lost control while making a dive and crashed into the Gobi desert about 100 metres from the airport runway. The crash caused no other casualties on the ground. The US aerobatic flight team that Smith worked for has cancelled all flights. Other aerobatic flights went as scheduled this afternoon.

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An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway. The Danxia airport, the first general aviation airport in Gansu, opened Friday along with the three-day general aviation convention which will last till Sunday.

Zhangye, a popular tourist destination for its unique red gritstone landforms, attracted 15 million tourists and took in 8.7 billion yuan (USD 1.3 billion) in tourism revenue last year.

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