One of the pilots who took part in the Kenyan Defence Force Museum Airshow held on Saturday, May 28 is dead.

The aviator identified as Mark Sampson who was part of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team from Cape Town, South Africa died on Tuesday, May 31 in a flying drill exercise at the Charles Prince Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe.

In fact, fans who were in attendance of the drill exercise captured the crash and the footage of the plane malfunctioning in the air has been circulated numerous times online.

According to Nils Flaatten of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team, the team was on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi after successfully displaying their aerobatic formation when the crash occurred.

Flaaten expressed the team's great remorse over his death as he was one of the most talented aviators in the group and maintained that they would be working with the Zimbabwean authorities to investigate the cause of the crash.

"It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the Marksmen Aerobatic Team can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4, and loyal friend perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe.

"The Marksmen Aerobatic Team was on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défence Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa,"

"The Marksmen Aerobatic Team is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities" his statement read.

The KDF Air Show was the first of its kind in the country, bringing together military and civilian air operators, and the South African team had stated that they had a great weekend in Kenya displaying their manouvres at Wilson airport in Nairobi

“We were treated to exceptional Kenyan hospitality. The Museum Airshow Festival was held at the Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi and we were fortunate to display with the highly skilled aviators from the Kenyan Airforce (KAF) as well as a number of other commercial operators including Kenya Airways.” the statement from the team read.

Kenyans were treated to a colorful air display as the aviators painted the sky with their aircraft showing their prowess in the field through their different performances.