Pilot killed in U.S. jet plane crash

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A pilot was killed after a jet plane crashed on Sunday at the Reno Air Races in western U.S. state of Nevada, authorities said.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a tweet that it is investigating the crash of an Aero Vodochody L-29 aircraft near Reno, Nevada.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office tweeted Sunday afternoon that it was responding to an air-race-related plane crash in the area of 13945 red rock road and urged people to avoid the area.

The Reno Air Racing Association, a not-for-profit organization that organizes the STIHL National Championship Air Races, confirmed on Twitter that only one plane was involved.

"At this time we are gathering information and confirming details of the incident that happened today during the Jet Gold Race," said the organization, adding that the National Championship Air Races "has suspended all operations for the 2022 event," which started on Wednesday and went through Sunday.

"All other pilots landed safely," the Reno Gazette Journal, the main daily newspaper for Reno, quoted Fred Telling, CEO and chairman of the Reno Air Racing Association, as saying in a brief update.

Telling expressed the group's "deepest sympathies to the pilot's family and friends," according to the news outlet.

Held every September just north of Reno, the STIHL National Championship Air Races have become an institution for northern Nevada and aviation enthusiasts from around the world. For one week, the high desert north of Reno becomes home to hundreds of aircraft, their pilots and crews, according to the Reno Air Racing Association's website.

The organization said the event, which features seven racing classes, has attracted more than 1 million spectators over the past 10 years.