A Calgary pilot has died after his plane crashed while doing aerial aerobatics at an air show in Cold Lake, Alta.

Bruce Evans was flying his T-28 Trojan when it went down at around 1:50 p.m. Sunday.

Peter Lozinski, editor of the Cold Lake Sun newspaper, told CTV News Channel that he witnessed the crash.

“It looked like he was attempting a loop and he came in a little too low,” he said.

“There wasn’t a fireball but a big puff of debris went up into the air.”

Sirens started going off and military personnel ran toward the crash site, Lozinski said.

“It was a hushed moment of shock at first,” he added. “A lot of people didn’t see it but heard it and turned around and saw the little cloud of debris.”

Col. Eric Kenny of CFB Cold Lake said the military is “deeply saddened by this incident and are providing our full support to Mr. Evans’ team.”

“We express our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones of Mr. Evans,” he added.

A biography posted on the Cold Lake Air Show website describes Evans as a geologist involved in resource exploration throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa.

The biography says the T-28B Trojan plane was “the last of the big piston engine military aircraft built.” Evans’ plane was manufactured for the U.S. military in 1955.

Evans held an Airline Transport Pilot Licence, a T-28 Endorsement and a low level aerobatic clearance to 250 feet, according to the biography.

Alberta Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean said on Twitter that he is “devastated to hear the loss of Calgary Pilot Bruce Evans.”

The Transportation Safety Board has deployed a team of investigators to the crash site.