Famed stunt pilot Rob Holland was killed when his MX Aircraft MXS plane crashed on approach at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia on Thursday morning, according to his official Facebook page.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they are "investigating the crash of an experimental MX Aircraft MXS."
Based on initial gatherings, the plane crashed while "on approach" to the air force base in Hampton.
Watch: JB Langley-Eustis Col. Altman gives update on fatal crash of Rob Holland's plane
This crash happened days before the biennial Air Power Over Hampton Roads air show. Holland had recently performed at the 2023 Air Power show and is a frequent sight at air show events.
Officials said Thursday evening they expect to continue with the air show.
Just after 4 p.m., officials with Joint Base Langley-Eustis said they were canceling a media availability scheduled for Thursday afternoon with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilots "due to unforeseen circumstances."
The base confirmed the fatal crash at 11:39 a.m., and said it was related to the air show.
Using FlightAware data, the aircraft type, and information from the air show's schedule indicating only one aircraft of that type slated to appear, internet sleuths put together the tragedy before media outlets like us could comfortably confirm.
“Today we lost a friend of our Air Force family,” said Col. Matthew Altman, Joint Base Langley-Eustis commander. “On behalf of our entire JBLE team, I want to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of this incredible aviator.”
An NTSB investigator is expecting to arrive Friday at Langley to begin looking into the cause of the crash.
This story was originally published by the Scripps News Group in Norfolk.
