Anticipation was high in 1999 for the debut of Russia's innovative Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet.
The jet was designed with advanced thrust-vectoring engines, similar to the X-31 which flew at the air show four years earlier.
During a performance, the Su-30MKI made a diving maneuver that was so low it touched the ground. Its tail caught on fire and the plane pointed skyward for a few seconds and seemed to lose power. The two-man crew ejected safely seconds before the jet crashed.
No one on the ground was injured.
