A small plane spiraled to the ground and crashed during the Stevens Point Air Show, killing its 47-year-old pilot, police said.
Bill Cowden, of Menomonie, Wis., died shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the scene when his plane crashed in the trees at the Stevens Point Municipal Airport, said Sgt. Tony Babl of Stevens Point Police.
The plane, a 1993 YAK-55M Russian-made aerobatics flight, was performing aerial maneuvers when it went down in a wooded area about 1,000 feet east of the airport runway, USA Today reported.
The cause of the crash is unknown, officials said.
The pilot allegedly appeared to be attempting to draw a question mark with the smoke from his exhaust, witnesses said. However, the plane's engine is suspected to have failed towards the end of the maneuver.
Following the crash, the show was shut down and the scene secured by police, UK MailOnline reported.
"Cowden flew F-16s in the U.S. Air Force and later became a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines," USA Today reported. "Cowden, who had been a pilot for 25 years, flew aerobatic planes because it rekindled the thrill he got from flying F-16s - one of the world's fastest jets - he said at Sunday's air show."
After spiraling to the ground, the plane looped up, then crashed into the trees next to the airport's airfield, witnesses said.
"I couldn't believe what I saw," said Melvin Burskey, 72, of Neenah, Wis., who was attending the event. "There was a puff of smoke, then it went down."
Chris Walker, 53, of Stevens Point was taking video of the airshow right before the crash. Since the plane was performing stunts, it's disappearance behind the tree line wasn't seen as suspicious until emergency vehicles rushed onto the airfield, he said.
"I was in shock," Walker said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation.
