This is the terrifying moment where tourists scream as a fighter jet performs an extremely low pass over a crowded beach during an airshow in Spain.
After the Spanish Air Force EF-18 Hornet fighter jet executes an acrobatic stunt in the sky, the plane can be seen hurtling towards the sea and the beach packed full of sunbathers.
Footage circulating online shows puffs of black smoke escaping from the jet as it turns upside down in the air, before swooping down to what appears to be just metres above the golden sand.
Crowds of tourists on San Lorenzo Beach in northern Spain can be seen filming the incident on their phones, awestruck at the frightening sight, while some beach-goers appear to let out screams in shock.
In another video, groups of onlookers stationed on a hill to film the airshow can be heard raising their voices in alarm at the spectacle.
The jet was performing as part of the nineteenth edition of the Gijón Air Festival held on Sunday July 27 over San Lorenzo Bay in Asturias, Spain.
After momentarily swooping near onlookers on the sand, the loud jet can be seen continuing its flight away from the populated beach.
Around 250,000 attend the Gijón Air Festival annually – Spain’s popular aeronautical event which began in 2006.
Tourists film the frightening moment a fighter jet performs an extremely low pass over San Lorenzo Beach during a Spanish air show
Some beach-goers can be heard letting out a scream as the plane seemingly hurtles towards the sand after performing an acrobatic stunt
After the Spanish Air Force EF-18 Hornet fighter jet executes an acrobatic stunt, the plane can be seen heading close to the sea
The frightening spectacle sparked a discussion online as to whether the stunt was planned, or a result of the pilot losing control.
‘Very risky maneuver… is that allowed?’ one user wrote on TikTok.
‘For me it looked like he lost too much height during the roll and pulled up too hard, making him lose a lot of speed, unintentionally. Could be the perspective, too,’ another wrote on Reddit.
But some members of the public were impressed by the jet’s performance. ‘I witnessed that live and it was one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time,’ one person said on TikTok.
