At around 11 am today local time, according to what was reported by the Finnish Air Force, Finlands luftkrafter, one of the fighter aircraft in the fleet, an F/A-18 Hornet, crashed into the military area of Rovaniemi airport, in Finnish Lapland. The pilot managed to save himself by ejecting, was located by the rescue services and taken to a medical facility for checks. A heavy column of smoke immediately developed on the site, as reported by some witnesses. The area was therefore immediately cordoned off for rescue operations.

When the accident occurred, the defence ministers of the Nordic Countries were due to arrive in Rovaniemi for a meeting hosted by the head of the Finnish Defence ministry, Minister Antti Häkkänen , who was present at the airport when the crash occurred. The meeting, organised in view of Finland holding the chairmanship of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (Nordefco) this year, was cancelled, as was the exercise planned to conclude the two-day meeting.

Finavia, the national airport management company, has clarified that the incident has not impacted civilian connections from the airport. However, this news should be taken with due reservations since a breaking news report reports that the airport's Vor/Dme radio beacon was destroyed in the incident, which could affect, authorities report, the approach maneuvers to the airport. Investigations are underway by both the Air Force and the local police.

The F/A-18 Hornet is a fighter-bomber built by Boeing based on the model designed by the American company McDonnell Douglas. It is a twin-engine multi-role carrier-based aircraft and is designed for the role of fighter, ground attack, close air support, tactical bombing, reconnaissance and advanced air control airplane.