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S. African pilot dead in China aerobatic plane crash

Xinhua, August 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

South African pilot Michel Leusch was killed after his aerobatic aircraft XA42 plummeted to the ground during an air show in northwest China's Gansu Province Saturday morning, the event organizer confirmed Sunday.

Shortly after the accident, the organizer announced that pilot Paul Smith died in the crash at the First Silk Road International General Aviation Convention held at the Danxia airport in the city of Zhangye. But it confirmed Sunday that the dead pilot was Michel Leusch.

At a new conference Sunday, vice mayor of Zhangye Wang Fangtai offered condolences on the loss of Leusch.

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 meters from the airport runway.

The crash caused no other casualties on the ground.

The U.S. aerobatic flight team that Leusch worked for canceled all flights after the crash.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.

The Danxia airport, the first general aviation airport in Gansu, opened Friday along with the three-day general aviation convention.

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