This is how Polish aviator Maciej Krakowian flew: he died in Radom piloting his F-16

A terrible accident occurred yesterday at Warsaw-Radomm Airport in Poland, in which a Polish Air Force pilot died.

Some excellent images of F-16s from Poland, Portugal, and Romania flying over Lithuania
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The plane, an F-16C fighter jet, crashed on the runway at Radom during training for the airport's annual Air Festival, which was scheduled to take place this weekend. The festival has been canceled. Here's a video of the crash:

Additional footage of the Polish Air Force F-16 demonstrator crash this evening in Radom. pic.twitter.com/VORLlCrHiR

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 28, 2025

The pilot didn't have time to eject. The deceased officer is Major Maciej "Slab" Krakowian, who had more than 1,400 flight hours, including about 1,200 in the F-16. In July, Major Krakowian earned the "As the Crow Flies" award at The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), one of the world's largest airshows, held annually at RAF Fairford, England. The award was given by the public for the great skill of the Polish aviator. Here we can see a video published by PlanesTV showing one of the four exhibitions that Major Krakowian made at RIAT 2025:

Major Krakowian was 37 years old, married, and had twin sons born in 2021. He had a habit of kissing his wife before all his flights. The aviator was born on February 15, 1988, in Płock, in the Masovian Voivodeship, and had been serving in the Polish Air Force for 17 years. He enrolled in the Higher Aviation School in Dęblin in 2008, and after graduating, he enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He was a highly experienced pilot. He had completed many specialized courses and training, and participated in numerous international exercises and missions.

Currently, Major Krakowian was an instructor at the 31st Tactical Air Base in Poznań-Krzesiny, in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. He was a capable pilot, capable of performing maneuvers that tested the limits of the F-16.

Since 2022 he was the pilot of the F-16 Tiger Demo Team Poland, a demonstration unit in which he flew an F-16C Bock 52-CF Fighting Falcon, the 4056 (03-0056, JC-17), decorated with grey tiger stripes and attached to the 6th Tactical Air Squadron of the Polish Air Force.

According to flightsafety.org, "the pilot proceeded to start a loop-de-loop at a low altitude, which resulted to exiting the maneuver too low, which proceeded the aircraft to crash at runway 07.".

Major Krakowian's death occurred on August 28th, Polish Aviation Day, which this year was marked by mourning. My condolences to the family and all of Major Krakowian's colleagues. May he rest in peace.

Cześć jego pamięci!
Honor to his memory!

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Photos: Wojsko Polskie.