Beachgoers could only look on in horror as they watched a Spanish military aircraft plummet from the sky with a foreboding whir before smashing into the sea. Thankfully, the plucky pilot managed to eject just in the nick of time.

The Spanish military’s C-101 plane was conducting routine training exercises near La Manga in Murcia when, at about 09:40am local time Monday, some unknown but catastrophic failure took place causing the plane to dive uncontrollably.

The pilot ejected before the aircraft smashed into the Mediterranean sea; search and rescue operations have since got under way.

The cause of the crash remains unclear but the C-101 aircraft was reportedly being flown by an instructor from the local air force academy at the time of the incident. C-101s, built by Construcciones Aeronáuticas (CASA), have been used as advanced training aircraft, prior to combat aircraft training, by the Spanish military since the 1970s.

Also on rt.com Seven killed after plane, helicopter collide on Spanish island of Mallorca

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!