A military jet smashed to Earth right in the middle of a race with another jet -- part of an air show in Nevada -- taking one pilot's life and horrifying the onlooking crowd.
The disaster unfolded Sunday at the Reno Air Races ... and you can see the red plane -- an Aero L-29 Delfin -- swiftly lost altitude while racing another jet, and burst into flames upon impact.
Washoe County Sheriffs responded to the scene, later confirming the pilot died as a result of the crash. As for what caused it, the Sherriff's office says an investigation is underway.