Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected

A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed on Wednesday near the Rovaniemi airport in Finland’s Arctic north, but the pilot was rescued after ejecting, the armed forces said.

The crash occurred “in the Rovaniemi airport area” around 11am, the military said in a statement.

“The aircraft crashed during a rehearsal for an air show,” Timo Herranen, commander of the Finnish Air Force, told AFP.

Herranen said “the pilot luckily was able to eject from the aircraft” and had only sustained “mild injuries”.

Herranen did not wish to comment on a possible reason for the accident “at this stage” and said an investigation was under way.

According to the military, there were “no injuries on the ground”.